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.

Thanksgiving 2010

I know... Thanksgiving is old news.  But, as I was organizing my pictures from Christmas and the circus, I ran across a few Thanksgiving pictures, too.

So, for posterity's sake here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving:

Check out this feast!!

We hosted at our flat this year.  I put my desk in the living room, covered it with a table cloth, and that is where we put the food.  From left to right: turkey (one plate of light and one plate of dark meat), cranberry sauce, gravy, broccoli casserole, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, creamed spinach, carrot sufle, creamed cauliflower  and broccoli, and a bowl of ice.  Drinks were on a smaller table on the side and bread was on the tables.

The adults table.  Noah, Callie, and Lucy made place cards and set the table.

The teenagers' table.  The kids fixed this one up all pretty as well.  I didn't take a picture of the kids' table.  They were crowded around our little table in the kitchen.

Here are the desserts- pumpkin cheesecake, apple pie, pumpkin pie, cranberry pie, pumpkin roll, and pecan pie.

Everything was so yummy!!  We ate, talked, ate, played games, ate, and played some more games.  It was so fun!

I did a short devotional about having an attitude of gratitude.  It is fun to use Thanksgiving as a time to really reflect and give thanks to the Lord for all that He has done for us. 

Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
      He made us, and we are his.
      We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
      go into his courts with praise.
      Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good.
      His unfailing love continues forever,
      and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

Psalm 100: 3-5

Possible Topics For Discussion

Ok... so I'm tired.  I've spent more than 5 hours on public transportation of various and sundry sorts today and I am slap worn out!

But, when I do have a bit of time and/or energy to write you can be sure that it may or may not include some of these topics:

*pictures from Christmas

*stories from the circus- which was AWESOME

*pictures from the circus

*tales from the immigration office

*local names that are weird

*Justin and I are staying in a hotel this weekend... by ourselves... with no children  (I just fainted from the mere thought of it!!)

*how I am struggling with the unknowns of our future

*pictures from a wedding that the girls and I went to

*the possibility of buying a car (SQUEAL!!!!!)

That's all for now.  Sorry, but my head hurts and Noah announced last night that he has three projects to do this week.

THREE!

Thanks for the notice, son!

Sunday Sneak Peak

Yes, it's real!

1/1/11

Today is 1/1/11!

How cool is that?!

Happy New Year to you and yours!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Although we don't really do anything to celebrate New Year's, I love it.  With the coming of a new year, it feels like another opportunity to start over.  Make all things new.

It's like all the greatness of a Monday minus the dread of starting a new work week times 1000.

I've made a few resolutions.  Have you?