1st Day of School 2012

Noah's first day of sixth grade

He's just humoring me by letting me take these pics!

This is the service bus that takes him back and forth to school.
 Transportation to school (even public) isn't provided,
so we have to pay for this.
Noah refused to let me come down and take pictures of him getting on the bus.
I don't know what's wrong with him.  HA!

Sweet Callie was more than happy to pose for the first day of school photo-shoot!

She was so ready to start school.

Praise the Lord, the girls are going to the same school at the same time!
Aren't they adorable?!

In the elevator, making last minute adjustments in the mirror.

Since Lucy had orientation last week, she felt like today was no big deal.

Walking to school.

I couldn't wait for Noah to get home to hear about his day.  As soon as he walked int he door, I sat him down with a snack and made him tell me everything!

Praise the Lord, his day went really well, and he was happy with his school.  He said he liked the service bus, made 3 friends, and learned "what is your name?" in German.  Pretty good for the first day.  I definitely feel so happy and blessed that Noah is able to go to this school!

Lucy had a great day at school.  She told us all about this "awesome" fight between her friend an a little boy.

Callie was a total stress-bucket!  Her teacher went over the supply list, and Callie was worried that the things I bought weren't perfect.  Also, I had put the wrong type of covers on her notebooks. :( 

Oh well, so much for trying to get an early start on that!  We got it all sorted out, and she chilled out a bit.

Of course, no first day of school would be complete without a "First Day Fiesta!"

(Please forgive the blurry photos.  I took them on my phone!)

Did you know that we now have Krispy Kreme here?
I bought doughnuts (sweet, delicious, sugary manna from heaven!),
we stuck sparklers in them, and sang Happy First Day of School to You!  HA!

I think they were less than thrilled about the singing, but the doughnuts made up for it!

1 day down, 9 months to go!

Sunday Sneak Peek

Before

After

Noah finally got his hair cut!  PTL!

It was the last thing on our to-do list before school starts tomorrow!

Hidden up in the Mountains

Our dearest friends have been begging us to come with them to their favorite get-away spot.  Today we were all finally free and up for an adventure.  We drove about an hour outside of the city and up a bit of a mountain.  Finally we ended up at this amazing outdoor restaurant sort of place nestled between two streams and smack dab in the middle of a forest.

It was such a great day.  The kids played, roamed, and got dirty to their heart's content.  We sat and talked and laughed to our heart's content.

Praise the Lord for His beautiful creation and wonderful friends to share it with!

Justin and Mahmut

A beautiful waterfall right by one of the seating areas

Mahmut playing in the creek with the girls 

Lucy, Nuray, and me

This boy LOVES hammocks.
If there is a hammock, you can bet he is in it!

Huge trout!

Lunch/supper
The homemade bread and butter, and the mushrooms covered in cheese were the best!

This old man was picking figs.
He told me he would share if I told Obama, "No War!"  HA!

There were lots of little waterfalls, and the sound was so relaxing! 

My beautiful princess exploring.

Why I Always Wanted a Sister

Things I Learned in the Parent Seminar

While the 1st graders are in their classes going through their introduction to school the parents have to sit through the Parent Seminar.  Here are some of the things I've learned this week...

Children should take at least one bath a week, preferably two or three.

Children should eat 5 servings of bread and rice a day.

Children should learn to feed themselves.  (Yes, most moms here totally hover over their children, to the point of feeding them well into their elementary years!)

Children's brains stop producing the hormone that makes them grow by 8 o'clock int he morning.  SO children should wake up at 8.

Children should change their underwear every day.

Most illnesses come from dirty fingernails.

Children's clothes should be washed weekly.

Parents should have a set time each night to wake their child and take them to the bathroom so they don't wet the bed.

Parents should make sure that their children are able to use the squatty potty and wipe themselves.  (I was supposed to work on the squatty potty over the summer with Lucy but I forgot!  So, we've been in intensive squatty training these past few days!  HA!)

Children should not hit their teachers.


I could go on and on about this seminar.  But I will leave you with a question that one of the parents asked...

"Teacher, I heard that apples cause memory loss.  Is that true?"

BFFs

Getting in her class line... so happy to see Dilruba.

Praise the Lord for putting this friend in Lucy's class!

Learning to line up and walk into the school.
(Not quite paying attention to their teacher!)

The Heart of the Matter

I have a friend who is constantly putting up "news articles" and other random things on Facebook (the culmination of all that is wrong with the world today) that have a distinct anti-Muslim sentiment. The headlines are things like Muslims Kill 4 in Quatar or whatever. Then she gets a host of comments from people about how evil Muslims are and that they must be stopped!!! May I please set the record straight?

Bad people do bad things, not Muslims! For every story you read in the media, thing you find on the internet, etc. about how Muslims kill people, you can find the same thing on this side of the world about Christians! Did you know that just like most people think that all people over here are real Muslims, the people over here think that all Americans are real Christians?

Would you like to be judged based on what is going on in America? Do you really want the people over here to think what they hear and see from America represents Christianity? Think about it...

This is what we are to them... Playboy, Desperate Housewives, raunchy videos, greed, stupidity, violence, obsessed with sex and money, murderers... the list goes on, and its not pretty.

Are the people who go in and shoot up schools or supermarkets a good representation of you? Are the people who bomb abortion clinics a good representation of you? Are the people who watch, produce, and/or export pornography a good representation of you? Are the people who abort their babies a good representation of you? Are the people who lure others into cults and eventually convince them to commit suicide a good representation of you?

Do you think this is an accurate representation of the truth of Christianity?

My point is that bad people do bad things. Life is full of choices for everyone of us. In following the Lord we must constantly choose to take the narrow path. To put others before us. To submit ourselves to God. (Islam literally means submitted to God.)

Unfortunately, there are many who do not make these types of choices. It's too bad, but it is their choice. Do you want them representing you, your country, and your faith?

My guess is no.

Guess what... my Muslim friends do not want to be defined by the bad choices that people on this side of the planet make, either. Since I have many Muslim friends that honestly fear God and submit themselves to Him, then I feel like I can speak for them.

Please stop judging Muslims based on the garbage that you hear from the media!! Normal Muslims are not like that. Just like normal Christians are not like the thousands of terror/murder stories that are coming this way.

Thank you and good night. I will step off of my soapbox now!

So Proud of my Big Girl!

Sooo cute in her uniform!

Lucy was so proud of her new backpack!

So excited to start school

About to walk into the schoolyard

Already getting into her snack

The excitement is building

Getting settled in her classroom.
Her best friend, Dilruba (next to Lucy), is in her class.
Her teacher is the woman in the blue shirt with the big smile!

My first grader!

Sunday Sneak Peek

About to head out to a "40th day reading" for a newborn with my girls.

We're Home! Now I'm Headed to the Mountain...

Laundry mountain, that is!

Lucky, Lucky, Lucky

Our hotel had a casino.  At the risk of looking like a complete idiot because I have not clue about casino games, we ventured in.  It was sort of fun just to walk around and see the games, lights, and free food!  I couldn't resist a turn at the slots!

I was sad that everything is digitized.  I didn't see any money pouring out of a machine, and that is what I was really hoping for!  Once again, the movies have led me astray!

Beautiful Cyprus

Justin's company did an off-site workshop in Cyprus this week.  Families were encouraged to attend and they made it super inexpensive.  So, we decided to tag along with Justin. I was quite nervous about traveling with folks that I don't know too well.  (I hesitate to call it going on vacation, because I have discovered that a vacation involves speaking English!)  

Of course, there were some awkward moments, but over all, it turned out to be really fun!  I LOVED Cyprus!  According to the country that we live in, Cyprus is a country, but according to the rest of the world, it's an illegally occupied territory.  At some point it was a British colony, so they drive on the wrong side of the road, the plugs are the huge British style plugs, and it altogether feels like a very different country.  I totally expected an island extension of our current country, so I was pretty surprised at how different things were.

Another shock was that prices were super cheap!  The taxis were all Mercedeses, and for about the same rent that we are paying, we could rent a stand alone villa with a private pool and sea-view!  I think I hear the Lord calling me to the islands!  HA!!

The view from our room

The view from my lounge chair.
Life is hard!! HA!

I can't describe how beautiful this place was.

The water was crystal clear.

The hotel sat up on these bluffs and down off the side there was a swimming dock.
Then a bit further down there was a beach.
We spent most of our time at the pool because it's easier with the kids.
But several times we went down to swim in the sea.  The water was so clear and the waves weren't too high.

Lucy and Callie playing with Justin's coworker and his wife.

The unlimited food was not necessarily a good thing!

This has been a summer full of travel and new adventures.  It has been so fun to see more of our beloved country.  Definitely a great summer!!!