Fight the Beast

This time last year we were fighting the battle of our lives....

LICE!!!!!

Running Errands...

is so much more fun when you're riding around on this thing!  (Justin drives it, of course!)

And when your view looks like this...

Thankful Thursday

We are cruising through winter break.  In the past we have gone on road trips but not this year.  So, it's been a bit quiet and uneventful.  I am so thankful!!  We've hung out, watched movies, played outside, walked along the coast, played soccer, and spent time with friends.  Perfection!!

Noah's soccer season had started.  The license thing is still a bit "iffy" but they are letting him play the second halves.  They won their first game 12-4 and today they won 16-0!  So, I'd say they are pretty good!  I am happy because I am a nervous wreck when Noah is in goal!  My parents made it look easy back in my day.  But, YIKES!  I hate it when the ball comes his way!  Ha!

Warming up at halftime with his coach.

The ball is finally on his side of the field... cringe!

Free kick!  Noah caught it with ease.

Noah's team

I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a soccer mom!  It is the most fun!!

I am also thankful for my friend Ayşe.  She must have been cooking for days to produce this spread!  I was over there so long today that Justin started texting asking if I was ok.  Ha!  I am thankful for sweet friends who can cook yum-o food!

Rollin' Down the Boardwalk

It's a beautiful day for rollerblading!  Yaaayyyyy for winter break with spring-like weather!!

Joy Comes in the Morning

You know when your eyes pop open at 6:35 and you begin to panic that you overslept.  Then all of the sudden you remember that you are on winter break and roll over for several more hours of blissful sleep.  It's the best feeling in the world!!

I love winter break!

Zzzz

Sunday Sneak Peek: Noah's First Game!

He had to sit the bench the first half because he doesn't have a TFF license.  But he played the entire second half and did great!  They won 12-4!

National PB Day

Today is National Peanut Butter Day!  Yall, I LOVE peanut butter!  It might be my second favorite food, behind turkey sandwiches.  I'm not exactly sure how to properly celebrate National Peanut Butter Day.  But I'm pretty sure one of these recipes would suffice!

What's your favorite peanut butter treat?

Report Card Day

Well... my babies have grown up and completely outlawed my traditional report card picture. :-(  However, I am super proud and pleased to say that they did great!  They got the equivalent of all A's and 1 B between them.  Their grades are fantastic!  I'm so proud of my kids!!!

School started at 8:45 with our normal morning assembly.  Then they were all released to go to breakfast.  They were serving crepes and the kids were so excited.  Yum-O!  After breakfast they went to their classrooms.  Then their class advisors gave out their report cards and winter break homework.  Afterwards they were released to go home.

The teachers all went out for a big brunch.  It was fun to hang out together and nosh on a yummy breakfast.

Thankful Thursday

I am so, so thankful that tomorrow is the last day before our two week winter break!  PTL!  I survived my first semester!  School sort of fizzles out here.  Today only about 1/4 of the middle school students even showed up.  We pretty much watched movies and played games in the gym all day.  It was fun to goof off a bit with the kids.

I am also thankful that 99% of the students and faculty ride the school vans.  Can you imagine riding to school with your teacher?  When school is out everyone scurries off to their vans and heads out.  The place is a ghost town in about 15 minutes time.  So, there's no pressure to burn the midnight oil or spend ridiculous amounts of time hanging around school.

I am thankful that we've got two weeks of relaxation ahead of us.  We have no plans.

Noah has a soccer game on Sunday.  We are all so excited and praying that they will let him play.  He has really gotten good.  A few days ago one of the teachers at school came up to me and was like, "How on earth is your son so good?!  He saved every one of my shots yesterday!"  I'm pretty proud of him!  I am so thankful for this chance to play soccer.  Noah loves it.

I am thankful that the kids have adjusted really well to their new school.  They are all doing really well.  I expect excellent report cards tomorrow.

I am thankful for the beautiful weather we are having.  It is cold and crisp but also super sunny!  My favorite weather!

I am thankful that I am getting to know my colleagues and neighbors better.  Our friendships are growing and I am feeling more comfortable at work and at home.  I am so thankful for friends!

Together Again

Justin got home yesterday late afternoon from his cross country motorcycle trip.  It took him two full days of riding to get here!!

He had great stories about thick freezing fog, a tired hiney, and frozen fingers!  Poor baby!!

We are so happy to have him home safe and sound!

So That's Where Baby Numbers Come From!

So, I was teaching my 6th graders how to say numbers.  We got to dates and they were still wanting to say them like large numbers.  Finally I reverted to the local language to explain that you say dates in pairs of numbers.  Nineteen forty two not one thousand nine hundred and forty two.

Apparently I made an unfortunate word choice and actually said something a bit more elicit about the number pairs.

Oh yall!!!  You should have seen these kids' faces.  They were dying and humiliated and trying to keep it together!  I knew immediately I had made a mistake.  And from their reaction, it was obvious that it was below the belt!

I came home and told Noah and Callie what I had said.  They were horrified!!  Ha!  At least I got their attention!  I guess that will be a lesson that they won't soon forget!

Sunday Sneak Peek: Career Day

Friday was Career Day for the elementary students.  There were tons of doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, soccer players, police, and army men.

But there was only ONE horse rider...

Lucy's Class

Proof!

His face says it all
I told him I'd buy this scarf for him if he wanted it!  ha!

Justin is out of town for a week and we are starting to go crazy.  So today we loaded up like the country cousins and headed to town!  Our nearest shopping mall is 2 hours away.   It is really nice with all the Western comforts and splurges (aka Starbucks!).

We walked around the entire mall.  We shopped a bit.  Noah really missed having his dad to goof off with and look at sports stores while the girls browsed from shop to shop.  We did our best to indulge him and went into the electronic and sports stores.  He survived.

We also went to a movie!  We saw Big Hero 6.  We were so surprised at the plot and really liked it a lot.  We'd only seen a little clip and it basically looked like a movie about a marshmallow that followed a kid around.  Boy, were we wrong!  I recommend it!

She bought this with her Christmas money and was so happy!

Here's proof that they actually like eachother!! 

We got home late tonight and the kids went right to bed.  I am so thankful for a chance to sneak away and have some fun with my babies!

Thankful Thursday

We survived our first Thursday in four weeks.  I'm not going to lie... it was rough!  Justin is out of town for a company meeting so we had to survive it on our own.

The good news is that I really do like my new schedule.  We got them a month ago but this is the first time I'm actually working a full week.  I used to have a ridiculously full Monday and the others days were sort of empty.  Now my schedule is much more even and I really like it!  Plus, of course, our hours have decreased a bit.  No complaints about that!

I am thankful for my new schedule!

I am thankful for our company.  Folks all around the world love the Lord intensely and work hard to encourage and sharpen us.

I am thankful for the beautiful snow last week.  A snow day helps everyone return to their childhood.

I am thankful that my neighbors finally came over to visit.  It has really had a ripple effect on my comfort here and I am hopeful that we will meet regularly like we've planned.

I am thankful for my sweet kids.  Being around lots of kids has only helped to prove to me that my kids are practically perfect in every way!  I love them.  They are amazing!

I am thankful for my co-workers.  I am getting to know a few of them better and we are forming friendships.  I am praying for better and deeper friendships!

The End of the 3 Day Work Week

Alternate title:  The Day I Died a Little Inside

Well, barring an extreme circumstance I will have to go to work tomorrow and the kids will have to go to school.  Thanks to Christmas, New Years, and snow we haven't had to go to school on a Thursday or Friday in three weeks!

It has been bliss.

I would seriously like to live in a country where the three day work week is acceptable.  I am trying to stay positive but I am dreading that alarm tomorrow morning.

The good news is that next week is our last week before the two week winter break.  Next Friday will be a half day.  The kids will get their report cards and then we'll be home free!!

Tasty Tuesday

I've said it about a jillion times, but there is quite a learning curve with cooking here.  Before we came I thought I was a "from-scratch" cook.  Boy was I wrong!  I'm happy to say that over the years I'm getting better and better.

Early on, I was so dependent on foreign ingredients.  If the taco seasoning ran out, there were no tacos until the next package arrived.  I've also slowly learned where to find almost any ingredient I want.

Although I will be the first to admit, nothing brings back the feeling of home like a packet of Martha White muffin mix, some Kraft mac & cheese, American candy, or peanut butter.  For the most part we are just fine without it and really it tastes better from scratch (not the candy or PB!)  But every now and again a little taste of American junk food is good for the soul!  Ha!

It's been a mostly fun journey.  Along the way, I found that All Recipes has been the most helpful website.  I'm sure you've all heard of it and use it regularly.  You can choose from all sorts of categories or ingredients.

For instance, a few weeks ago Callie wanted to make a carrot cake.  So she hopped on All Recipes and started searching.  Well, every recipe contained pineapple.  So she went to the advanced search, clicked on doesn't contain, and wrote in pineapple.  Tons of carrot cake recipes popped up.  She chose the one with the highest rating and it was yummy!

I have especially used this site to find recipes to replace my mixes and foreign ingredients.  This sloppy joe recipe is a hit.  Who knew that you don't have to buy taco seasoning... you can make it easily.  And it's helpful for teaching techniques like how to roast a turkey.

There are so many recipes and ideas that help me get out of my meal planning ruts.

I also love, Love, LOVE The Pioneer Woman.  Every single recipe that I have made form this site is a major hit!  Every one!  The only trouble that I have with her recipes is that they are really geared to the American kitchen.  Her ingredients lists will call for a stick of butter or a bag of powdered sugar.  Things don't work like that here so sometimes math is involved.  Yikes!

This website and this one have been helpful when I want to make local food.  I need real measurements when I cook.  My friends and neighbors just cook by sight so when they tell me how to make something its really hard for me to reproduce!

Praise the Lord, we are not starving.  Fresh meats, vegetables, and fruits are abundant and reasonably priced here.  Now dairy... that's another story.  It's abundant, but the prices have skyrocketed in the past several years.  Thankfully it has helped to wean us off of our all cheese all the time diet!  Ha!

What other cooking sites should I know about?

O2 in the Snow

I took these photos from my friend's FB page.  She is a really talented photographer.  I thought you'd like to see how beautiful our town is in the snow:

This is the launch spot for the para-gliders!

Sunday Sneak Peek: Report Cards

It's report card time around here.  I bet your report card doesn't look like this:

Says Praise God before and after meals.

Eats with their right hand.

This is a little snapshot from the kindergarten progress reports at one of our local government schools!

Blackjack, Goldilocks, and Lucky

When you beg enough, you finally wear your parents down.  Luckily we kept our wits about us and didn't commit to a pet that actually requires much.  Just fish.

Meet Balckjack, Goldilocks, and Lucky...

our precious new family members.  Ha!

She is SOOOOO HAPPY!

Well Trained Ponies

Around noon the bell rang for the millionth time.  I assumed it was just the kids again and thought unhappy thoughts about the fact that when you live in an apartment you have to buzz your kids in. This means getting up and down pretty much constantly.  I pressed the button to open the front door and then yanked open our apartment door.  Boy, was I surprised to find my neighbor's niece standing there.  There I was in all my slothful glory- pjs on, 5 day old hair, and, as we've already seen, in desperate need of eye cream.  Not a pretty sight!

Anyhow, her aunt had sent her over to see if I was busy later.  They wanted to come by for coffee.  I happily agreed.  Yay!!  Finally a visit from my neighbors!!

Well, I shut the door, and everyone snapped into order like well trained ponies!  We're not total slobs, but you'd be surprised how quickly a small apartment gets trashed when 5 people are on a snow holiday!

The kids frantically helped straighten up.  Justin fired up the vacuum.  We thawed a cake that Callie had made.  I showered and got myself up to a presentable standard.  I had to laugh at our efficiency.  You'd think we've done this a time or twenty!

When the neighbors, 3 ladies, showed up an hour later, this house was spotless and we had a lovely cake ready to share.

I cannot tell you how happy my heart is.  I have missed this aspect of my life so much since moving here.  It was such a blessing to have the opportunity sit and chat with these ladies for a few hours.

They are starting a little coffee group so that we all get together regularly.  I think it will be about 8 ladies total.  I am so excited!  Just what I have been longing for!!

Thank you, Lord!

Snow Night!!!

The snow really started coming down again in the late afternoon.  Since I din't have any notice about the snow, I didn't get to make the frantic run to the grocery store to stock up on essentials.  So we were faced with the threat of starvation by dinnertime.

Luckily, we are within walking distance of pretty much everything.  So, we bundled up again and headed out to a local restaurant.

It was pouring snow and made for such a fun walk!

We filled our bellies with yummy food and stopped by the market on the way home to stock up.

Today was such a great day!  I LOVE snow days!

Snow Day!!!

I was so excited when I finally got the text from my principal that said school was called off for tomorrow.  I turned off my alarm- the best feeling in the world- and settled in for a long winter's sleep.

Well, apparently I'm an idiot.  I thought the kids would sleep in, we'd all wake up late and have a leisurely breakfast together.  I even entertained the idea of making pancakes.  (A hot breakfast is unheard of around here.  Morning is not my time to shine!)

However, the kids had other plans.  They woke up earlier than usual and their excitement level was of thermonuclear proportions!  Their excitement was contagious.  We bundled up, called our neighbor out, and set out to explore.

The best caption for this picture is:
Elizabeth needs new eye cream!

Our street, looking at the mountain that our town is known for.

Looking down our street in the opposite direction

All bundled up!

Lucy and her buddy had a little snowball fight.

Beautiful winter berries.
I wish I had found this bush before Christmas so I could have cut a few branches to decorate.

Walking to the beach.  I was dying to see what the Sea looked like in the snow.

As soon as we got to the beach this friendly little dog came up to play.
Lucy was begging us to take it home.

So, this is what the beach looks like in the snow.  So weird and beautiful!
The waves were HUGE!

Here's a better picture of our mountain

Her brother was sweet and threw a snowball at her face while she was making her millionth snow angel.

Our little seaside park was beautiful under a blanket of snow.

Çiğdem and me

Callie is ready to blast someone with a snowball

After a nice long walk we headed back towards home.  Callie was done.  Her boots are from last year and so they were giving her blisters.  She hurried inside to start the kettle and take drink orders!

After a wonderful morning playing in the snow Justin and I came inside to do what comes natural during a snowy season... hibernate!  Noah and Lucy came in after a bit to warm up and eat lunch.  Then all three went back outside and played until it started to get dark.

By the end of my afternoon nap I got a text that school was cancelled for tomorrow, too!  No one in this house cried a tear over that news!

I haven't been to school on a Thursday or Friday in three weeks!!