37

Today is my 37th birthday!  Yay me!

I typically like a low key day.  It was tempting to just let the day pass without much fanfare as we are really too busy in the moving process to think about it.  But, in the end I decided that all I really wanted and needed was a break from the madness.  So we snuck out of town and hit the beach!

My happy place!

Noah and I made a peanut butter pie before we left.  Justin ran a few errands and got a few things done that had to be done so that we could actually enjoy the day worry-free.  Then we took off!

It's been so hot here so we were all excited about the cool blue water!  Perfect day for the beach!

I have no idea what this pose is about!

Noah spent 3/4 of our time at the beach letting himself be pummeled by the waves!

Daddy and his girls

Sister love

My little sea princess

This kid is a fish!

Seriously, I'm sure Noah will have whiplash tomorrow!

 We stayed until the sun was setting.  We were almost the last people on the beach.  On the way home we picked up a pizza.  After quick showers we settled in to pizza and a movie.  Then we topped it off with my favorite...

Thank you, Lord for peanut butter pie!
It is the best stuff on earth!!

It was a great day and the perfect escape from the stress of moving!!

Ramadan

I'm over it!

It has finally gotten unbearably hot here.  Since everyone is fasting the mood is low and no one is out during the days.  I am sweating myself to death!  The Ramadan drummer goes through the streets before 3 am.  If I had a bb gun I'd puncture that drum!!  But it's not like anyone is sleeping soundly anyway!  It's too hot to sleep and folks are out until all hours of the night since they aren't even eating dinner until 9 pm.  It's like they just switch their days and nights.  Seriously, whole families are out and about at 1 am!  The streets are noisy with folks and cars all night long!  It's a strange time around here.

I have tried to stay on top of our goodbyes.  I decided to be proactive and schedule times to see our friends.  If not, they'd all come around on Tuesday night before we move and want to hang out all night long.  I just can't handle that.  So, slowly but surely we've been meeting people, having folks over, etc. and saying goodbye.  It's exhausting!

Moving

We have a move date...

next Wednesday, July 16th!

The truck will show up super early.  Movers here typically include packing in their price.  When we moved before I couldn't handle the thought of someone else packing my stuff so I did most of it before they arrived.  This time I'm just too tired and too busy to do it.  I've done a few things, but basically I'm leaving most of it for them.  Justin keeps encouraging me to let them do since that's what we're paying them to do.  We'll see... I may regret it!  I guess the good news is that I have absolutely nothing of value so there's not much to loose if there's a problem!  Ha!

The girls and I are going to fly to our new town on Wednesday morning.  We have some things we need to handle as soon as possible.  The main thing being finding curtains!  One of the things I love about our new place are the big beautiful windows.  But those big windows mean that our old curtains won't fit.  So, in the interest of privacy we've got to get something on those windows asap!  It's funny how before we moved here I though that curtains were for decoration!

Justin and Noah are going to supervise the movers, get the utilities shut off, and tie up all the loose ends.  They will spend the night with our friends and then drive out on Thursday morning.  The movers will arrive at our new place early on Friday July 18th.  I am so looking forward to getting settled in our new place.  This time of limbo is making me crazy!  Ha!

Iftar

Any idea what this mess is?

They are the traditional treats used to break the fast at sundown during Ramadan.  Specifically, folks usually break the fast with dates and milk or water.  On the above tray I have some walnuts, dates, dried figs, more dates, hazelnuts.

I took Jennie to the airport at 3 o'clock this morning and then came home to get some more sleep.  Once I woke up I hit the ground running!  We had two families come over for iftar tonight and there was a lot to do to prepare.

I took a risk and made lasagna.  The kids, including Noah didn't love it, but the adults seemed to like it.  As soon as the Call to Prayer sounds everyone digs in.  So timing things perfectly is a bit of a challenge.  Folks have a few dates, nuts, etc. and then finally get to drink.  Then they start the meal with soup and bread.  I made a basic red lentil soup.  Then I served the lasagna, salads, and more bread.  Once everyone had finished the main course I put the tea on and I cleaned everything up.  For dessert I made a chocolate cake and each family brought a box of baklava.  (You never show up to someone's home empty-handed!)  So I served tea, cake, and baklava.

Both families are from the providence that we are moving to, so it was fun to talk about that amongst other things.  It was a great night even though it marked the beginning of our goodbyes!

Loving Jennie

I had no idea when we ran into our friend Carolyn Wheeler at church 13 years ago and she said, "You should call my daughter, Jennie.  She's just got her driver's license and loves to babysit." that I was about to find so much more than a babysitter.  Over the years Jennie has become a dear part of our family.  She's that perfect combination of friend and little sister that I always hoped for.  And we are so blessed to have her in our lives.  SHe loves our kids like they are her own.  She hops right in and helps with whatever needs to be done without even having to be asked.  Any person who would voluntarily stay an extra week with a family that is about to move cross country must be a saint (it was her idea... I promise!)!!  (Can you say riptide undercurrent of stress... cause that's what's running through this house!)  That was on top of coordinating the team that came to serve at our conference and then working her hiney off for a week loving and serving 70 kids at the conference!

I am so thankful to the Lord for our precious friend!  I don't know what I'd do without her!  I keep reminding my kids that Jennie is the sole reason they are still with us.  During those early years, she'd drop by and grab a kid to play with or rock a baby just to bless me.  And since I'm still talking about it years later, you can be assured that she blessed our socks off!  I love her so much and am so grateful for Jennie's friendship!!

Jennie leaves tomorrow so we decided to head out to our favorite park to enjoy the weather (and relieve a little moving stress!).

Working it on the waist whittler!

We always crack up at these exercise machines that can be found in almost every park here.

Jennie and Lucy getting their sweat on!

This boy is always looking for something crazy to do!

Exploring the dry waterfall.
It's manmade and not 5 minutes after we quit jumping on the rocks the water turned on.  We would have been soaked!!

Beautiful views from the hill.

Jennie and me

quick water break

Lucy posing with some of the beautiful flowers

Dinner at IKEA.
It's one of the few places you can eat before sundown during Ramadan around here!

To top off a great day we played Headbandz.  After a few rounds of this Jennie was happy it was almost time to go home!  Ha!  Leonard Family game night would test Job's patience!!

So thankful for our extra time with Jennie!!  She's one in a million!

Sunday Sneak Peek

What to do when you are avoiding packing...

Take internet quizzes!

One of Our Favorite Spots

Now that summer is here one of our favorite little spots in the city has started hosting their street craft fair every weekend.  Even though it seems like more and more tables are popping up with things that aren't really handmade it is still fun to walk up and down the streets browsing.  You have to make sure you come hungry because the food in this area is amazing!  There are tons of yummy little restaurants and food booths.  

Lucy brought her daughter who had just been born a few hours earlier!  She's a very resilient newborn!

Noah and Justin on the boat headed to the other side.

I always have to take a picture of the bridge spanning the two continents.

 We shopped all the booths but didn't find anything we couldn't live without.  So, we found a nice spot in the shade and had some snacks.  We had kumpir which is a huge baked potato with all kinds of toppings including, but not limited to- green and black olives, mayo, ketchup, bulgar salad, pickles, corn, butter, American Salad (which is basically peas, carrots, potatoes, and mayo), little chopped up hot dogs, and cheese.  It sounds gross and it is but Justin and everyone else here loves it!

We also had a waffle.  Now, the folks here know how to make a waffle!  They start with your basic waffle and smear nutella and hazlenut spread all over it.  Then they top it with strawberry, banana, and kiwi slices.  Finally they sprinkle chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, ground pistachios, and chopped walnuts on top.  Then they sort of fold it over like a taco for you to eat.  Believe me, that is one heavenly taco!!

Callie, Jennie, and Lucy after their treats.

After a few years of restoration, the beautiful mosque that juts out into the sea had just been reopened.   It was interesting to go in and see the results.  They did an amazing job- this mosque is stunning inside and out!

Happy Fourth!

Living in a foreign country makes me about 84 times more thankful for America!  I feel very blessed to be an American citizen!

I flew home super late last night and Justin stayed behind in our new town to finish up the paperwork.  Even though Justin was MIA Jennie and I were determined to get out and have some 4th fun!  We decided to go to a fun park full of immaculate scale miniatures of famous structures and sights found throughout the country.  We got to the ferry a bit early and decided to walk down the shore a little bit.

Well, as we were strolling along the sea a storm rolled in.  We decided to forget the miniature park and hightail it to someplace that was covered!  Just as we reached a little set of shops close to where we parked the car the bottom dropped out and it began to pour.  So we ducked into the shops and waited it out a bit.   When the rain let up a little we dashed to the car.  

Much to Noah's chagrin we headed to our favorite shopping mall.  Pour kid... stuck in the mall with 4 women!  Ha!

The kids entertaining themselves in the mirror while I bought Uncle Alan's birthday gift.

Noah tried really hard to endure the shopping with a good attitude.  Finally I let him go to his favorite store while we girls made the rounds.  Then we headed home for our 4th feast.  The weather had cleared up a bit so we decided to continue on with the plan to grill hamburgers on the terrace.  Charcoal here is really junky so it takes forever to get going well.  I had the coals really nice and hot and put the burgers on the grill just as it started to pour again!  Luckily this rain passed pretty quickly and didn't cool the grill down too much.

Here's Jennie and the kids with our American meal of cheeseburgers, onion dip and Ruffles, salad with ranch dressing, and fruit salad.

While Justin and I were out house-hunting Jennie was so gracious to watch the kids.  Not only did she watch the kids, but she and Callie made us a special 4th of July dessert!

Nothing says 'Murica like red, white, and blue cake balls in the shape of the American flag with sparklers, don't ya think?!

Home

Justin and I have been praying and asking the Lord for a new home in a town out east.  We've seen a few things, but were really hoping for an apartment with 4 bedrooms.  However, we told our realtor that we only be picky until July 1st.  After that we'd choose from whatever they had available.  Nothing spectacular had come on the market.  So we got up ridiculously early and flew out to our new town to make see what was available.

The whole day felt like an episode of House Hunters International.  It was a whirlwind day.  We saw five apartments total and the one we chose was far and above the best.  

We were waiting with the realtor for someone to bring the keys to the first and only place she had to show us.  It was taking forever so finally she suggested that we get in her car and drive around to see if anything else had come on the market.  Sure enough we found one place with a for rent sign in the window.  She called the number on the sign and the guy hurried over to meet us.  He happened to mention that there was also an apartment in the building just down the street that was going to be for rent.  The first place he showed us was ok.  The area was lovely, but the apartment was sort of small and run down.  So then he took us to the place down the street.  The building was beautiful and the apartment was fantastic.  

As we finished looking, the guy with the keys to the original place the realtor wanted to show us arrived at that apartment.  So we hurried over to see it.  It was terrible!  Throughout the afternoon we saw two others, one terrible and one ok, but knew that the second one was the place for us.

So we called the realtor and the landlord and began the paperwork.  Honestly, I have gone back and forth about the place.  It is beautiful and in an amazing location.  I just can't imagine how we are going  to fit into it!  I am thankful to the Lord for His provision of this nice place and a very kind landlord... who has already invited us over for tea!  

The realtor went on and on about how fast and limited the market is in that particular town.  In fact the place we rented had just been vacated the day before.  It wasn't even on the market yet!  

Our beautiful building.  Our flat is the one with no curtains in the windows on the 1st floor.

İp Hanı

The children's team flew out yesterday but Jennie is staying for another week.  YAY!!  After such a long week of hard work it was time for a little reward.  Over the past year Jennie has turned into a crocheter.  So today I took her to the İp Hanı, the yarn wholesaler.  Um... I think she's going to have to purchase an extra bag just for her yarns!  It was so fun to get out a bit, just the two of us and search for bargains.

Jennie was so happy with her yarns!  She barely got in the door before she started crocheting!

Sunday Sneak Peek: Thank You!

This amazing group of folks came from far and wide at their own expense to serve and bless our organization's children!  They were amazing and I am so thankful for each of them!!

Baptized

Noah has been talking about making a public confession of his faith and being baptized for over a year now.  Knowing that a group was coming from our home church I told him that this conference would be the perfect time to do it.  They have a baptism service every year and I thought it would be even more special to share it with some folks who have known us for years.  The more we talked about it the more interested Lucy became.  As we talked about it she insisted that she wanted to be baptized, too.   So Justin got to baptize both Noah and Lucy.  

(Sweet shy Callie will never do anything this public.  She wants to be baptized, but we are going to have to be a bit more creative with her.  I think later on in the summer we can do it as a family in the Sea.)

What a privilege to not only see our children choose to follow Jesus but to see their Daddy baptize them!  Praise the Lord!  May my children walk with Him all of their days in deep faith, boldness, and joy!