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?

The Circus

The circus has come to town and set up in a huge parking lot right near our flat.  You can see the tigers pacing in their cages when you ride past on the minibus.  At night the tents are covered in lights.  All of the local children are busting a gut... not the least of which are my little darlings.

Thanks to some special Christmas money from a dear friend, we are going to the circus tomorrow and taking Noah's and Callie's best friends.  Everyone is extremely excited.

Lucy is sure that the tigers will be scary, but insists that she will be brave!  I am just sure to have my camera ready in hopes that the local circus proves to be as interesting as the local zoo!!

This should be fun!!

Cultural Things That Have Passed Us By

We have not lived in America for three and a half years.  During that time several things have risen to mainstream that I just do not understand.  They are-

Webkinz

Twitter

Glee

Lady GaGa

Jersey Shore

Smart Phones

Zhu Zhu Pets

Barak Obama

Skinny Jeans

Going Green



Wow!  Sounds like I'm really out of it now!!

Hear the WHIRRRRRR

It is 10:46 on Tuesday night.

At school Callie shares a table (think Little House on the Prairie) with another student.  They take turns bringing home the cloth cover for their table.  It must be washed and returned the next day with the student.

Callie brought it home today.  And now I must wash it.

So, here it is, late in the evening, and the washer is spinning away!

I know that our neighbors below us HATE the days nights that we have the tablecloth.  I can only imagine what our washing machine sounds like in their flat!

Sorry Arzu and Ercan!!

Oops! I Did It Again

Today when I went to the little market on our block to buy onions.  I tried to hand the guy my one lira coin to pay for my onions.   Rookie mistake!

The market is right across from our mosque, and I think the market owner/worker also has some sort of position or something at that mosque.  He is very religious.  He wears the clothes that the pious people wear.  He recites from the Koran constantly.  And he is closed during every prayer time.

Anyhow, I forgot that religious (pious) people will not take money from someone's hand.  As I tried to hand the lira to him he tapped the counter.  I thought that he was pointing out an add in the newspaper.  So I started to read it and wondered why he thought I would be interested in the furniture sale.  In the end he had to tell me to place the money on the counter.  He told me that he could not take money from my hand.

Guess he'd catch my pagan cooties!  HA!

I knew that rule, anyway.  I just forgot.  It's hard to keep all the little cultural things straight, and with whom to practice the customs.

Wear this.  Don't wear that.  Say this to sort-of religious people.  Say this to very religious people.  Never  say that to anyone.  Serve the men.  Don't serve the men.  Don't ever make eye contact.  Put the money on the counter.  Put the money in an envelope.  Don't pay money for that.  If you ask the price that way they will think you are asking for "services."  Say it like this and they will know you are also religious.

 The list is 4 miles long!!

Christmas

This Christmas was great.  I think it was one of our best yet.  The kids are old enough to really have fun and get cool toys.  We are finally getting a hang of how to do Christmas here.  The past two Christmases I have been in language school and have had a hard time pulling it all together.  But this year I had plenty of time and I was very prepared.

I let the kids stay home from school on Friday, Christmas Eve.  The girls hung out with me in the kitchen.  Callie made our annual Happy Birthday Jesus cake.  I made lots of food for Christmas day.  I like to have a special meal, but do not want to be in the kitchen all day on Christmas.

We made gorilla bread.  Have you ever tried it?  It is amazing!  My friend made it for Bunco years ago, and my life has never been the same!  Now, its our Christmas morning tradition.  Also, I went to a special one day market for international women about a month ago.  There I was able to get cheddar cheese and bacon.  So we made bacon cheese scrambled eggs in tortillas.  Justin made orange juice for us.  It was so good.  Callie and I also shredded potatoes and made hashbrown casserole, creamed spinach, and glazed carrots.  I put the turkey in the crockpot before I went to bed.

We spent Christmas Eve with our team.  It was such a nice celebration.  But, we got home really late.  The kids were exhausted.  Knowing it was Christmas, no matter their exhaustion level, I knew they'd get up at 5 am.  So I told them they could not get off their beds until 8:00.  Lucy slept in till just about 8, and the others woke up some time around 7 and waited on their beds.  It truly was the Christmas miracle!!

At 8:00 we dragged Daddy out of bed, made his coffee, and popped the gorilla bread in the oven.  Then we opened stockings.  The kids convinced us to let them open just one gift before breakfast.  They had already picked out the gift they wanted to open most.

We had a nice breakfast together.  Then the present opening ensued!  They kids had so much fun, and got some really nice gifts.  We are pretty simple so we just got each of the olders a game, and a new water bottle for school for Lucy.

Justin got me the market-cart that I had been wanting.  Its like one of those old people carts that carry all their stuff.  All of the ladies here use them to go to the market.  Now I have one, too!

The kids were thrilled with their gifts.  When things began to lull a bit we ate lupper (lunch-supper) and had Happy Birthday Jesus cake.

We talked to our families over video Skype, and even went over to see some friends for a bit.  As the night  was winding down, some of our neighbors, knowing it was our holiday, came over to visit.  (That's what they do on holidays here.)  It was fun to have them, and to tell them about our day.  I had all sorts of home-made goodies in my kitchen, so there was plenty to feed them.

It really was a great day.  Low-key, focused on family- both here and in America, and a bit of time with friends.

How was your Christmas?

The Good News Part 4: The BEST Part

But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Good News Part 3

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea. This happened while Herod was king of Judea.

After Jesus' birth, Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem. They asked, "Where is the child who has been born to be king of the Jews? When we were in the east, we saw his star. Now we have come to worship him."

When King Herod heard about it, he was very upset. Everyone in Jerusalem was troubled too. So Herod called together all the chief priests of the people. He also called the teachers of the law. He asked them where the Christ was going to be born.

"In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied. "This is what the prophet has written. He said,

 " 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
      are certainly not the least important among the towns of Judah.
   A ruler will come out of you.
      He will be the shepherd of my people Israel.' " —(Micah 5:2)

Then Herod called for the Wise Men secretly. He found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem. He said, "Go! Make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, bring me a report. Then I can go and worship him too."

After the Wise Men had listened to the king, they went on their way. The star they had seen when they were in the east went ahead of them. It finally stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they were filled with joy.

The Wise Men went to the house. There they saw the child with his mother Mary. They bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures. They gave him gold, incense and myrrh.

But God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they returned to their country on a different road.

The Good News Part 2

There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby. It was night, and they were looking after their sheep. An angel of the Lord appeared to them. And the glory of the Lord shone around them. They were terrified.

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy. It is for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born for all people. He is Christ the Lord. Here is how you will know I am telling you the truth. You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a large group of angels from heaven also appeared. They were praising God. They said,

 "May glory be given to God in the highest heaven!
      And may peace be given to those he is pleased with on earth!"

The angels left and went into heaven. Then the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem. Let's see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby. The baby was lying in the manger. After the shepherds had seen him, they told everyone. They reported what the angel had said about this child. All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

But Mary kept all these things like a secret treasure in her heart. She thought about them over and over.

The shepherds returned. They gave glory and praise to God. Everything they had seen and heard was just as they had been told.

The Good News Part 1

In those days, Caesar Augustus made a law. It required that a list be made of everyone in the whole Roman world. It was the first time a list was made of the people while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be listed.

So Joseph went also. He went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea. That is where Bethlehem, the town of David, was. Joseph went there because he belonged to the family line of David. He went there with Mary to be listed. Mary was engaged to him. She was expecting a baby.

While Joseph and Mary were there, the time came for the child to be born. She gave birth to her first baby. It was a boy. She wrapped him in large strips of cloth. Then she placed him in a manger. There was no room for them in the inn.

The Prophecy

The people who walked in darkness 
   have seen a great light.
For those who lived in a land of deep shadows— 
   light! sunbursts of light!
You repopulated the nation, 
   you expanded its joy.
Oh, they're so glad in your presence! 
   Festival joy!
The joy of a great celebration, 
   sharing rich gifts and warm greetings.
The abuse of oppressors and cruelty of tyrants— 
   all their whips and cudgels and curses—
Is gone, done away with, a deliverance 
   as surprising and sudden as Gideon's old victory over Midian.
The boots of all those invading troops, 
   along with their shirts soaked with innocent blood,
Will be piled in a heap and burned, 
   a fire that will burn for days!
For a child has been born—for us! 
   the gift of a son—for us!
He'll take over 
   the running of the world.
His names will be: Amazing Counselor, 
   Strong God,
Eternal Father, 
   Prince of Wholeness.
His ruling authority will grow, 
   and there'll be no limits to the wholeness he            brings.
He'll rule from the historic David throne 
   over that promised kingdom.
He'll put that kingdom on a firm footing 
   and keep it going
With fair dealing and right living, 
   beginning now and lasting always.
The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies 
   will do all this.