Sunday Sneak Peek: On Our Way

We're Not From Around Here

When I'm not walking around with my head in a fog from complete overwhelmedness (my new word!!), I can be found cruising the isles at WalMart.  Our plane landed at 11:00 o'clock on Wednesday night.  I was in the WalMarts by 1 o'clock the next day!  It calls me like a siren!

For some reason, my favorite thing to do is walk up and down every blessed isle at whatever Walmart I can find.  However, Target or a grocery store will do in a pinch.  It's air-conditioned.  It's organized.  The wheels on the carts actually roll.  I like to look at the massive amounts of stuff and pass judgement on who would actually buy it.

(For example: Today I saw packets of four potatoes already wrapped in foil.  Really people?  Now we can't even wrap a potato in foil?  Here's a little hint...If you're that short of time, either don't put your potatoes in foil because they still do just fine in the oven or stick them in the dern microwave!)

It makes me feel happy that I don't have, need, or want that quantity of stuff.  And now, I have a new since of pride in the fact that I know how to buy a potato from the vegetable seller, tear off the appropriate size piece of foil, wrap the potato, and put it in the oven all by myself.  I'm practically Ma Ingalls!  My mom trained me right!  It was that summer she sent me off to wilderness scared straight camp!

I could go on about my WalMart adventures and obsession.  It is a running joke with my family here!  Before this post starts to ramble on about nothing (that's a joke!) I'll tell you a funny story.

When Noah and I were in WalMart today, Noah saw a display of gallon jugs of sweet tea (Hey, we are in Georgia!) and went running over.  He hollered out, "Mom!  Look at all this syrup!!"  There were two WalMart associates unloading a pallet of pudding that just died laughing.  What can I say, we can't even get anything that remotely resembles a gallon jug where we live.  Bless his heart!!

Landed!

After many hours of sleepless travel we arrived at Justin's parents' home safe and sound.  

Praise the Lord for kids who travel like pros, flawless flights, and the blessing of family!  

Now its' time to conquer jet lag...

The Other Coast

I guess we've been bit by the adventure bug or maybe we're just restless from a looong winter stuck indoors.  More likely, we're turning into old people who enjoy the simplicity of a nice weekend drive!  Regardless of the reason, we went on another adventure Saturday.  Noah and Callie weren't due into the bus station from camp until late in the evening.  So that left the whole day to do something fun as a family of three.

We've explored the coast on our side of the city.  So, we decided to drive up the coast on the other side.  We've never been much farther than the second bridge on that side.

Driving up the coast, we saw a regatta.

Then we got to the end of the Straight where it opens into the Sea.

Sweet Lucy was a good sport!  Although she did get frustrated when she would ask, "Where are we going?" and our reply was "We're not quite sure!". 

The lighthouse that marks the edge of the Straight.

The beautiful Black Sea.

You just never know what you are going to happen upon in this city.

We came across this huge ancient aqueduct.

Since Justin is a water engineer, he thought this was particularly cool! 

The arches were beautiful!

Then a bit further up the road we came across a wind farm.
(Please excuse the dirty windshield!)

Thanks to Mindy, the kids and I are really interested in windmills!

The countryside was like a patchwork quilt.

We came to another stretch of beautiful beaches.

Lucy couldn't wait to dip her toes in the water.

The beach had my favorite kind of sand.  It was teeny tiny smooth pebbles and shells.
So, it's almost like sand, but not so sticky and gritty like sand.

They had put up big rock barriers every so often to protect the beach from erosion.
And because rocks are super fun to climb on!

Daddy and his girl!

Lucy's Little Mermaid photo shoot!

Up on the bluffs looking further west along the coast.
Yep!  It's absolutely stunning!!

We had such a fun day exploring a bit of the city that we hadn't seen.  Lucy was so sweet and did great in the car (no siblings to fight with!!).  This country is so beautiful!  It's nice to get out of our neighborhood and be reminded of that!

Serenity and/or Sanity Now!!

Would you pray for me?  

I am traveling to the States with the kids... by myself... for about 24 hours!!

They are great travelers, but your prayers for smooth travels, no missed connections, calm kids, and an extra measure of grace for me would be appreciated!

See ya on the flip side!!

For My Daddy: Helms-A-Lee!!

You just never know what you are going to run into in this city!  As we were crossing the bridge on Saturday we saw tons of sailboats.  For some reason you don't see a lot of sailboats on the Straight (maybe because it's a very busy shipping lane?)  Driving up the coast we realized that there was a regatta.

The boats were so close to the shore!  I was scared that they would surely run aground!  But those sailors were awesome!  They could thread the buoys with ease!  They had to hike up really high, then change on a dime, and tack the other way!  It was really impressive!

Heads up!!  Jibe Ho!

Shop Till You DROP!

The kids and I leave for America on Wednesday!!  One of my favorite things about going home is visiting with people.  One thing that has been ingrained in me since I've lived here is that you can never go to anyone's home empty-handed.  So, on Friday, Lucy and I headed over to the bazaar district to buy gifts!

Crossing from one continent to another.

The beautiful weather made it a perfect day for shopping!

My sweet shopping buddy!

Coming in to dock on the other side.

Crowds were light.
I think the recent protests have scared everyone away!
And the protests have caused the exchange rate to really tip in our favor!
Double win!!

The huge old mosque (named New Mosque) located in the plaza by the bazaar.

Cute little Lucy striking a pose before we hit the bazaar!
It can be a bit touristy, but you can find some good things there.

We started out next to the bazaar in the wholesale district.
This area is pretty intense and you have to be ready to throw some elbows sometimes!

After we finished our shopping it was time to get back on the boat and head home.

Mission accomplished!
Time to put our feet up and have a glass of tea!

Sunday Sneak Peek: A New View of the City

Counting the Days...

Only 4 days until...

We see our families

air conditioning

Chic-fil-A

Mexican Food

no water or electricity cuts

neighborhood pools

old friends

turkey sandwiches

sweet baby kisses from my nephew

no Call to Prayer waking us up at 4:20

church services

shorts

all English, all the time

We CAN"T wait!!!

Sunset Over the City

"And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb its light."

No Water!

Yall, water cuts are the WORST!!  You never know when they are going to cut the water or for how long.  It always seems to be cut at the most inconvenient times.  Although, I'm not sure there is a convenient time to be without water.  The least they could do is warn us, or make some sort of water cut schedule.  I guess I think way too much like a westerner!!

While school was in session, it always seemed to be cut right around noon.  With half-day school this was the worst time.  We were always trying to eat a bit of lunch, brush teeth, and get ready to go out the door.  Imagine your morning routine without any water!!

One time I had hair dye in my hair (not that I dye my hair or anything!) and the water was cut.  I was panicked that my hair was going to fry right off my scalp!  In the end, I had to have Callie pour water from our big emergency jugs (because this was very much an emergency!!) over my head as I hung it over the rim of the bathtub.  It was a freezing cold mess, but at least my hair didn't sizzle up into nothing!

The other morning it was barely trickling enough for me to get a very quick very cold shower.  And, I had a huge day of cleaning, washing curtains, etc. planned.  No sparkling clean flat for me!

I've even had it cut out while I'm in the shower!  Triple UGH!!

I am so looking forward to an uninterrupted water supply when we are in America next month!!

Callie's Class Picnic: Food

No local picnic is complete without copious amounts of food.  Callie's class picnic was no exception!

We started the morning with a breakfast so huge that there was hardly room for people to sit.

I made the layered pastry on the left.

After the kids were fed, it was the women's turn.

We chatted and nibbled until the tea was gone.

Later in the afternoon it was time to get the grills going and have some lunch.

All the ladies sprang into action prepping food.

Getting the meat ready for the grill.

Making the salad.

This kind dad gave up his one day off (as a chef) to come do our grill.

The kids lined up waiting for their food.

Everyone happily eating their lunch.

We have loved the friends that we've made in Callie's class.  The Lord really blessed us with a great group of folks and we are so thankful!  We'll miss this group!

Öğretmenim

Öğretmenim (My Teacher) from Elizabeth on Vimeo.

My Teacher

My teacher, my teacher.

You smell like roses.

The road takes you.

When school ends, I will miss you so much.

La, la, la, la.

My teacher, my teacher.

You smell like roses.

 La, la, la, la.

Ay, ay what a good report card I am getting.

Thank you,

My teacher. My teacher.

By Lucy Leonard

June 2013

Callie's Class Picnic: Friends

Callie's class picnic was last week.  Like I said before, it was a low-key event.  We've been together for four years.  So, it was really fun and special to have this last chance to have fun together!

The format was basically the same.  We arrived at the park at 9am.  After a short while we laid out a huge breakfast feast.  We fed the kids and then we ate.  After cleaning up we sat around, talked, and drank tea.  After awhile we had a wild game of dodgeball.  Later on in the afternoon one of the dads came to grill for us (on his day off, Bless his heart!!).  We got home close to seven that evening.

Here's the first set of pictures...

My Callie girl!

Washing the dishes after breakfast.

Hammocks are ALWAYS a bit hit!

Beyza and Aleyna

Eray and Şuranur's moms.

Lucy loves to play in the catbox sand.
She gathered up this bag of sand and insisted we bring it home.  She did not win that battle!

The funnest thing about the hammocks is swinging someone really hard until the rope frays and breaks.
You never know who will be the next one to bite the dust!

Callie and her best friend Ceyda

The boys are making a fire (unattended).

The girls are playing volleyball. 

A few games of tug-o-war were played.

This little cutie got lost for a bit.
After some hysterics she was found.

Aysun and her daughter Ceren.