Bed Fellow

Look who has wiggled her way into my bed.

It started innocently enough.  She was sick and it was easier to take care of her when she was close.

Now, I'm not sure she'll ever leave.

I'm not sure that I want her too, either.  At least until Justin gets back!

7 Days

One week down, three to go!  We miss Justin so much, but have been able to talk to him every night.  That is such a blessing.

My very close friend's father used to travel when she was young.  At that time in this country there weren't really telephones (or reliable running water or electricity... and it was only 30 years ago!!).  So they would sit by the window every night to watch and wait.  For days!  Can you imagine?

We are heading up to London to see Justin on Thursday.  We are all so excited.  The trip will be short, but hopefully it will help break up our time apart a bit!

Also, the more we talk about it, look on the internet, and hear from friends about what a neat city London is, the more the adventurer in me gets excited.  I love seeing new things!

And Justin, too!  I love to see him!

Who knows, I may even try fish and chips!

Sunday Sneak Peak

A weekly pictorial peak into our world:

This, or something like it, is what I wear to the Koran Study on Fridays.  The only skin that can show is my face and hands.  I wear an ankle-length skirt, long sleeves, and make sure that my neck, collarbone, and head are covered.

The Reports Are In

Lucy- all very good except understanding and retelling stories, that was good

Callie- all 5s (her subjects are Language Arts, Math, Social Studies, Art, Music, and P.E.)

Noah- 4s in Language Arts, Social Studies, and Religion, and 5s in Math, Science, English, Art, Music, P.E., and Traffic & First Aide

We are so proud and amazed at how well the kids do in school.  They have adapted so well and are thriving!  They are just so smart and hard working!  What a blessing!!

Karne

Today is karne günü... report card day!  Even little Lucy will get a karne from her preschool.  She has a special performance at 2:00.  Noah and Callie get theirs at 12:30.  They present them like diplomas.  Then the two week winter break begins!

At Home With Lucy

It is a rare day that just Lucy and I are at home alone together.  But she has had a low grade fever for the past two days and has stayed home from pre-school.  Yesterday neither she nor I felt very well so we just laid in bed together all afternoon and watched movies.

Today we were feeling better, but she still had a little bit of a fever every now and again.  But she seemed to be feeling ok.  So we went on a date.

After we dropped Noah and Callie off at school I took Lucy to the pet store to look at puppies.  She loves animals more than anything.  The puppies did not disappoint!  They were so adorable, and she was in heaven.  The pet store is in a very modern style shopping mall.  So afterwards we went over to the food court and ate lunch.  They have a man who plays a beautiful baby grand piano in the food court.  It is fantastic!  So relaxing and unexpected.

Well, anyway, Lucy decided to charm the socks off him.  And before I knew it she was sitting up on the piano bench with him, and he was teaching her to play the piano.  After she tired of her piano lesson, she slid down off the bench and alternated between dancing to the piano music and staring into the the inside of the piano.  She was just so cute.

We walked around the mall a little bit and then bought a dozen Krispy Kreme doughnuts to bring home. Krispy Kreme has just come to this country, and it has ricked our world!  The yumminess is fantastic.

We headed home to relax a little bit.  Lucy watched Sleeping Beauty while I make cookies for my neighbor who just had surgery.  Then we went to the post office to pick up 2 packages from Generations!  They were amazing!!!  She was so excited, and again charmed the postal workers up to the point that they walked us out to the car carrying the packages for us her.

Sweet mercy this little girl knows how to turn on the charm!

Then we went to the flower shop to get some flowers for our neighbor.  Of course, she walked out of there with her very own flower that the guy in the flower shop gave her!

We picked up Noah and Callie and headed home to eat a quick dinner.  I had planned to go over to visit our neighbor, but she was not released from the hospital today and we missed visiting hours.  So that is on our list for tomorrow!

Lucy got the most adorable tea set in the package.  So we had a lovely tea party.  That girl makes a lovely cup 'o tea!

Today was such a sweet day with my baby girl.   She is so sweet, funny, and charming!!  I just love her so much!

Monchichi

Do you remember Monchichis?

atamaii.com

I saw a whole shelf full of them when I was at the bookstore today.

I had a few when I was a kid.  They were creepy then, they are extra creepy now.  Please tell me that they are not returning to popularity in America!

PRAY

Pray for me...

Callie is still not 100%.

I did something to my back and it really hurts.

Lucy came home early from preschool with a fever.

My stomach is a little squiffy.

The good news... I used the word squiffy!!  I picked that up from my British friend.  I am trying to learn the language before we go to London in two weeks.

If we survive until then.

Gone

Justin is gone.  He left at 9:30 this morning.  We watched him get in his taxi while shouting goodbye and blowing kisses out the window.

He called a little bit ago.  He arrived arrived safely, everything is fine, the area is beautiful and charming.

Callie was sick today.  I thought that she had an ear infection so I took her to the doctor.  Nope.  She just has a bug of some sort- low grade fever, lathargic, not much appetite.  This, too, shall pass.

The only sound in my flat right now is the whirrr of Loraine.  At least I've got her!

London

The only good thing about Justin going to London is that the kids and I are going to go up and join him for a long weekend.  The kids have winter break from school the first two weeks in February.  So we are going to go crash in Justin's hotel room and explore London a bit.  We've never been to Europe, (well, besides the bit that is part of our city) so we are so excited!!

Any tips, suggestions, or must-see places?

I am determined to buy a Will and Kate royal wedding souvenir tea towel.

Sunday Sneak Peak

Sunset over Lake Allatoona, Georgia

I took this picture right before we left to come back here.  We spent the day at Uncle Sonny and Aunt Joyce's house playing on the lake.  As always it was fantastic.  Most of my favorite childhood memories and even now are from this place.  I ran across the pictures while organizing my photos.  I forgot I'd taken pictures that day.

A Drive

Today we piled in the car and went for a drive.  We've lived in this city for 3 1/2 years and there are still so many places that we haven't been able to see.

But, now we have wheels!  Our whole life has changed!!!

The kids were complaining at first about going on a drive, but since their parents love exploring and adventure they are going to have to deal with it.  (And int he end, they had a great time, too!)

We started out by driving up to the nearest beach area on the big sea up north.  Two summers ago we explored up there.  But, that time we were on the bus for an hour and a half.  Then we took a minibus where we stood for about an hour while we zoomed over bumpy, dusty roads.  Then at the end of the minibus line, we had to walk to the first beach in sight.

Today we arrived in 30 minutes.

30 minutes!!  Sweet mercy!  I had no idea how close we actually lived to the beach!

Not just 30 minutes, but also in the extreme comfort of our sweet little car.  Have I told you that her name is Renee?  I LOVE her!

We didn't even stop at the first beach we found.  We wound our way through some bumpy dirt roads until we came upon the most lovely beach.  We ran and played, collected a few rocks and shells, and basically had so much fun together!

We climbed back into the car and explored our way down the straight's coast back towards home.  The really cool thing about where we live is that there are forts, ancient settlements, and all sorts of other interesting stuff to explore everywhere.

Whenever we saw something interesting, we pulled over and hopped out.  We finally got to see the beautiful spot where the straight opens up into the sea.  There is an old lighthouse and a cute little village at the top of the cliffs overlooking the area.  We also climbed around a few old forts and saw things that we'd only read about in the tour books.

It was a fantastic day!  Pictures to come some day.  Inşallah!

I am not much of a city girl, yet I live in one of the largest cities in the world.  So, now having a bit of freedom to get out of the city and actually touch a tree, see the sea, or breath some non-polluted air is such a blessing!!

Horray for Renee!!  And horray for mystery drives!!

I have a feeling that while Justin is gone, there will be lots of mystery drives!  We may even drive all the way up to London if things get crazy enough!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Well, Justin is leaving on Monday for a month.

A MONTH!

The longest that we have ever been apart was two weeks when I was a freshman in college and went to Peru.  How can I survive a month without him?

Help!

Can you help me?

We want to do better at memorizing Scripture as a family- in both languages.  Does anyone know of a good Scripture Memory Plan?  My kids are 9, 7, and 4 (although my brain functions at about a 2 year old level so keep that in mind, too!).

Or... what Scriptures been most meaningful to you?

I am thinking throughout the year we'd like to memorize Scripture that confirms what we believe, reminds us to obey our authorities, says who we are in Christ, helps us to act right, etc.

Thanks!

Lessons Learned

I have learned many a lesson during my time here.  Among the two most important:

1. Very unsavory things collect in the streets.  Watch your step at all times!

2. Before you toss your trash into the outside garbage bin brace yourself.  There is a high likelihood that cats will come bolting out and scarce the poop out of you (see #1).

King Day

So... I hear it's Martin Luther King Day in America.


Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase. Martin Luther King, Jr. 


History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King, Jr. 


I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. Martin Luther King, Jr. 


I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Worn Slap Out

In my home country I am very much an extrovert.  I love spending time with people.  But here, it is a little different.  I still love to be with people, but it wears me out.

In our early months here, every few days I would get up the courage to visit someone.  I'd secretly have my eye on my watch, hoping to at least survive for an hour, and then make my exit.

Now, grated my language was extremely limited so a decent conversation was really hard to come by.  Mostly, my patient host and I would have to rack out brains for topics, exchange a few words or sentences about said topic, and then wait in silence for another basic topic to come to mind. Repeat.  Repeat again.

Often times a translation dictionary was in use.

See, painful, right?

Anyhow, now that my language, although far from great, has advanced a bit, conversations flow freely and actual ideas on occasion may be shared.

Which brings us to this post.

I am worn out.  The past week has been people-full!  As you can probably tell by this scattered post, my brain is not functioning well.

Last Monday I went to visit a lady in the new building across the street.  We had met on the street a few times, and it was time for me to drop in for a visit.  Monday night Callie and I went to visit some different neighbors.

Tuesday I went to the bazar with a neighbor.

Wednesday the ladies in my building all came up for coffee.

Thursday Justin and I had a meeting with our company's Regional Director.  (He is not a local.)

Friday I went to the Koran group in my building.  (By the way, it went well.  We sat and listened to the Hoca read from the Koran in Arabic for quite a while.  Then she explained what she read, and also reviewed the rules for how to wash oneself before prayers.  After the study part was over the hostess served us lunch.  Then we all sat around and talked until it was time for all the moms to pick up their kids.  It went so well.  I can't wait to go back this week.  *One funny story:  The hostess's grown daughter answered the door when I arrived and she gasped at the sight of me.  She didn't know that I was coming and was shocked to see me.  Most of the other ladies knew and so it was no big deal.  They were very nice and seemed happy to have me.  They all said how flattering my headscarf was!)

Saturday morning my dear friend came over.  Then we went as a family (in our car!!!!) to visit some local believers.  That was a rare treat, and very encouraging.

Sunday we had Noah's best friend's family over for brunch.  It was so fun.  This was our first time meeting the father so we were quite nervous.  With men in this country, you never know what you are going to get.  But, he was perfectly delightful, and we all had a great time together.  After they left, we took the kids to see "Tangled."  Although it was dubbed in the local language, it was still cute.  Once we got home, we ate a quick dinner, and then the girls and I went across the street to visit our favorite neighbors.  (Shhhh.  Don't ell anyone.  We belly-danced.)

Today I tried my best not to talk to anyone at all!!  I am worn slap out!


P.S.- I went to the market in the car today.  It was heaven!!!  I got more than I could carry!!

Sunday Sneak Peak

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...

This little beauty is our new (to us) car!!!!!

SQUEAL!!!

Martha Stewart, Snoop Dogg, and the Koran... OH MY!

I am about to go to my building's Koran study group.  Friday is the holy day in Islam.  Most of the men go to the mosque to pray and but the women don't usually do too much.  However, the very religious women meet in small groups and a female "Hoca" (religious teacher) comes to read the Koran to them.

Since it is widely held that the Koran should not be translated, it is read in Arabic- almost sung.  Then there may be a short time of interpretation or explaining what was read to those listening since they don't understand Arabic.  Most times this is sort of sermon style but sometimes it can be a bit like a discussion.

The women in our building are very high practice conservative Muslims.  (That's the reason we chose this area.)   So every Friday they meet together and the Hoca comes.  Today, and depending on how it goes, from now on I will be joining them.  It is a great chance to learn and hopefully to dialogue, too!!

Speaking of dialogue, I watched Martha Stewart this morning.  Are you shocked that Martha Stewart is broadcast here?  Me too!  There is no rhyme or reason to the odd things that are broadcast here.  Anyhow, it is, of course, dubbed into the local language.  I cannot for the life of me figure it out, but they have found a woman who speaks like Martha- slow, deep voice with and air of aristocracy.  It was like butter.  It was like velvet.  It was like butter and velvet got married and had a smooth-talking baby who does voice over work.

AMAZING!

Now, I am not sure how close the end times are, but after today, I am positive that they are near, because when I turned on our television, not only was Martha there gracefully teaching the world about the wonders of homemaking at its finest, but I swear to you, by her side was none other than Snoop Dogg!

(Don't even get me started on the crazy guy that they hired to do Snoop's (am I on a first name basis with him?) voice.  These people have T-A-L-E-N-T!!)

I must have fainted.  Afterwards, I quickly made sure that I was right with the Lord and looked heaven-ward for Jesus to come trotting right out of the clouds.  This was a sure sign of the apocalypse.

I mean really!  Really?!


Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart right there on my television, speaking the local language, droning on and on about... brownies?!  Talking about the perfect (she says that word a lot) chocolate to use, how to line the pan, what speed to mix it at.

What on earth?

I never thought that I would get to see such a thing in all my days on this earth.  Yet, here it was!

Hallelujah and amen!

Christmas Day

I promise that this is the last post about Christmas.  I do not promise that this post will be short!  This blog doubles as our family scrapbook so it is important to me to try to document as much as I can.

Since we had been out very late the night before, I told the kids not to get out of bed until 8:00... and they didn't get out of bed!  It was amazing.  But, you better believe that the very second their clocks struck 8:00 they came tearing into our room, jumping up and down, and so excited that I thought they might bust!  I made Justin some coffee right quick and we headed to the family room.

We started off by opening up our stockings

Lucy got some "Lippys" in her stocking and couldn't wait to share!

Noah got vampire teeth.

Then the kids begged and pleaded with us to let them open just one gift before breakfast.  We caved.  They each ran to the tree and picked a gift.  They had been plotting and already had the gift they wanted to open picked out (probably for days).

The game he really wanted.

Polly Pocket from Noah.

We ate a quick and delicious breakfast.  Then opened up our presents.

So happy with her new toys.

Couldn't figure out what to play with first.

Open it, open it, Daddy!!

Lucy got a barn with five baby horses in it.  She was in heaven.

Callie got a karaoke-style game that requires a microphone.  Heaven help us!

Her bunny, Lily, got some cute new clothes.

Lucy got the closest thing to a real dog that she will ever get!

She loves this dog!

Every girl needs a sequined beret!

We managed to take a break from playing at about 4:00 and eat our feast.

This Christmas was so fun and full of blessings!  We got to talk with both of our families over Skype in the evening.  That always makes the distance a little bit better!  We also went to visit our friends for a little bit and take them some treats.  

Just as the day was winding down and we were starting to think about putting Noah and Callie to bed (Lucy had already melted-down and gone to bed) our neighbors came over to help us celebrate our holiday.  They had sweet gifts for the kids and it ended up being a fun surprise.

The End!

Kahve

The ladies in my building are all about to descend on my flat for coffee.  We used to do a big "tea party"  with lots of food, but it got to be too much for most of them.  So this year they scaled it back and we just serve coffee.  No one is allowed to make any type of food.  If they do, they will ruin it for the ladies that follow because they will feel obligated to make something as well.

To prepare for them I...

-cleaned like a crazy woman (they firmly believe that cleanliness is next to Godliness- to be called "clean" is a high compliment)

-washed my carpets

-put on my nice long skirt and fancy knee-highs

-got out all of our slippers (house-shoes) and lined them up by the door

-washed and prepared my best coffee cups

-filled my sugar dish

-put away anything breakable so that the babies who are not yet in school won't hurt themselves

-lit a few candles so my flat would smell nice

-bought some freshly ground coffee (I am going to make some "American Coffee" for them which is essentially like filtered coffee but with a french press.  They typically only drink instant Nescafe or Turkish coffee.  I'll make Turkish coffee, too.)

-made an awesome Johnny Cash mix to play for them.

Just kidding about that last one!  That's for me!

Please pray that my home is full of Christ's presence and that His grace abounds in me!

Christmas

Back to Christmas we go...

I let the children stay home from school on Christmas Eve.  The girls helped me in the kitchen all day.  We made these cinnamon rolls (which are the best in the world) for all of our neighbors.  The kids had so much fun taking tins of fresh hot cinnamon rolls to everyone.

We also prepared some goodies for our Christmas Eve celebration with our small group.  We made peanut butter fudge and dark chocolate mint truffles.  The fudge was ok- not nearly as good as Uncle Sonny's "Courtin' Fudge!!"  But the truffles rocked the house!

We also made the food for our Christmas day breakfast (Gorilla Bread) and lupper (lunch-supper).  We had turkey, gravy, biscuits, creamed spinach, hashbrown casserole, glazed carrots, and Happy Birthday Jesus cake.

The cake is Callie's specialty.  She makes one each year.  This year my mom sent a red velvet cake mix, so Callie really was able to do it completely by herself.  Well... except for greasing the cake dish.  That is Lucy's specialty!!

I had so much fun cooking with my girls.  Sometimes it is such a hassle or too hard to be patient with them.  But that day was just one of those days where my attitude was in the right place, we weren't in any kind of hurry, and we had so much fun together!

I asked Justin to take a few pictures since I am always the one with the camera and am never in any of the pictures!  Please forgive the zebra print pajamas!  I have no pride!

A Room With A View

Ok... no to belabor the fact that I actually got to go across the water and stay in a fancy hotel with my husband for 44 glorious hours or anything, but....


here are some pictures from our balcony:

Twilight:  Overlooking the City

See that hill with all the cell phone and television towers way in the distance?
Well, on the other side of that and down a bit is where we live.

Sunrise

Sometimes when I wake up, or even just look out at the vastness of this city, I think to myself, "Really, God?  I mean really?"  How on earth did a regular girl from suburbia end up here?  

"By faith, Moses, when grown, refused the privileges of the Egyptian royal house. He chose a hard life with God's people rather than an opportunistic soft life of sin with the oppressors. He valued suffering in the Messiah's camp far greater than Egyptian wealth because he was looking ahead, anticipating the payoff. By an act of faith, he turned his heel on Egypt, indifferent to the king's blind rage. He had his eye on the One no eye can see, and kept right on going."

from the Message Hebrews 11

Back

Well, we came back.

There was a not so brief time where we considered staying and letting our friends divide the children up amongst themselves.  But we all have to return to real life now and again, don't we?

It is official... I love the man I married.  After almost 14 years of marriage, I love him more than I thought was possible.  I cannot imagine life without him.  He is my very best friend, and there is not one person on this earth that I'd rather escape with.  But, honestly, it is easy to love someone when everything is going great (and you're staying in a nice hotel with a balcony overlooking the sea and eating yummy food).  Its harder to love each other when you're walking through the trenches of life (moving to a foreign country, starting all over, trying to figure things out, raising children).  And, he's the one I'd choose over and over again during the hard times, too.

He's the best.  HE. IS. THE. BEST.  I am so glad that I realized that at age 16 and snatched him up!!

Sunday Sneak Peak

Christmas Morning

Away

Justin and I are spending two blissful nights all by ourselves in a hotel with a sea-view, breakfast buffet, swimming pool, spa, and (best of all) NO KIDS!!

Please pray for our sweet friends who are all pitching in to watch our kids- for everything to go smoothly and for the kids to behave.

We may never return!!

Outsourced

Um... how come no one told us about the show "Outsourced?"  I don't know how we stumbled across it, but it is hilarious!  It's like watching our lives, but  with a comedic spin... and with everything in English.

Baby #4

Well... we're expecting again!!!!

But, this child is a little different.  We've always had nine months to prepare for a new baby.  This time we only have a few weeks.

We are expecting his sponsorship packet to arrive in the mail any day now.  Our new baby is actually an 8 year old boy named Mohammad.

Isn't he fantastic?  Look at his beautiful face.  This momma is so proud!!!

We decided to sponsor him through Compassion International.  It was our Christmas present to each other.  The opportunity to literally change a child's life forever, and therefore impact all of those around him as well... priceless!  Who could think of a better gift?  Not me!

Compassion International has been helping children for over 50 years.  To date they have helped more than 1 million children in 26 countries.  They don't just give a hand out, they save lives and provide opportunities to children who otherwise would have no future.  Children and families are not just fed, they are educated- blessed with skills that help them to earn a living wage and support their families.  Therefore offering the invaluable gift of dignity, respect, and hope.  Doesn't every human deserve at least that?

We are so blessed and excited to be apart of Mohammad's life.  He lives in a country that is around 86% Muslim.  (You know our heart to see the truth fully revealed to Muslims.)  So, we are already praying for Mohammad.  We pray that he comes to know the Lord as his personal Savior and that his heart is full of love not just for the Lord but for his fellow country-men.  We pray that he will be bold in sharing his faith and sharing the stories of Jesus to all of those around him.


The Lord gives both death and life;
      he brings some down to the grave but raises others up.
The Lord makes some poor and others rich;
      he brings some down and lifts others up.He lifts the poor from the dust
      and the needy from the garbage dump.
   He sets them among princes,
      placing them in seats of honor.
   For all the earth is the Lord’s,
      and he has set the world in order.


2 Samuel 2:6-8

One Is Enough

There are big signs up in the poorer parts of the city that say basically,

"If you marry more than one woman you will receive a seven year jail sentence."

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

This year I upgraded our tree a bit.  Our old tree was starting to look quite pathetic.  IKEA trees have a life span, even if they are fake!  So I got a new IKEA tree.  It looked about regular size in the store, but in our flat it was floor to ceiling and I had to bend the top down a bit!!  I think I've seen a scene like that in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation!  It was funny.  But the kids love the new tree and I do, too!!

Friday night was Family Night.  When the kids got home from school I had Christmas music playing and everything set out to begin decorating for Christmas.  We ate a quick dinner and got to work on the tree. We watched Charlie Brown Christmas and Elf while we worked.  It was so fun!

Of course we finish off the tree with our manger scene.  Callie has to make sure that it is perfect.