Schooling Decisions
>> Tuesday, May 22, 2012
black gloves
>> Friday, May 18, 2012
The thing is that I got henna on Wednesday. I went to a friend's house in the village so she could do my henna. During this time my friend told me that another friend's grandmother had died the night before. So there would be three days of mourning in the village.
But, right away I knew that I couldn't show up to sit with the family with henna on my hands. You only get henna when you're happy or celebrating.
So, I bought gloves out of respect for a mourning family.
Tea Club
Faith came with me this time and the ladies enjoyed watching her. She loved drinking tea with us! She also got to color and play on the iPod. She felt pretty special to be a part of this group!
Mother's Day
>> Sunday, May 13, 2012
I am so thankful for my kids! As we walked into the mall, I thought it was totally appropriate that there was a big heart on the greeting sign. I love these two and I love being their mom! Seriously, my heart is bubbling over with gratefulness for them.
I thought it was cute...after we took the picture Joseph leaned over and said, "I love you, Mommy! Happy Valentines Day!" haha!
tomatoes
>> Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Wedding Time!
>> Friday, May 4, 2012
It's such an important part of the culture here, but it's so totally different than the way we do weddings in the States. One of the biggest differences is that the men and women have separate wedding parties. The men's party and the women's party can even be held weeks apart from each other!
This picture was taken when we got home from the wedding around 11:30pm. Joseph said, "Daddy, take our picture! We're married now!"
Our New Pets!
Birds are a very common pet among our Arab friends. Just a couple days ago we saw a boy walking around the village with a bird on his shoulder!
I met a new Arab friend at a local souq (market) where she helped me pick out and buy the birds! This friend has a lot of small birds as well as a big parrot. Most families have a bird and I've heard of a lot of parrots that speak Arabic! I have yet to hear a bird greet me in Arabic, but I hope to soon!
Pretty Henna Hands
>> Saturday, April 21, 2012
I have blogged about henna before. You can see that blog post if you click here.
I was so excited to find a friend who does henna in the village that I live close to. It takes me 5 minutes to get to her house. I hope that I will be able to go back to get henna many times! Let me know if you want to come visit and get henna with me!
Here's a couple of pictures of the fresh henna on my hands:
Shrimp
The next morning at 6:45am
, I got a call from my new friend who said, "How many kilos of shrimp do you want?" I told her I'd take 1 kilo and she said I could come pick it up at 9:00am. This was the start of my shrimp adventure!
Easter Morning
>> Monday, April 9, 2012
Basically the reason that we celebrate Easter is what makes us who we are! We believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was buried for three days and then raised again on the third day! It's only through his death that we can be set free from our sin problem.
It's awesome that Jesus has power over death! The fact that He rose from the dead means that we have the opportunity to continue living this life with a living God!
Layover
I was so blessed to be able to catch up with some friends that we hadn't been able to see in about 6 months!
Trip to Kyrgyzstan
This conference was scheduled to be in Kyrgyzstan. I had heard the name of this country, but I didn't know where it was. I started looking up airlines that fly to Bishkek and decided to go with FlyDubai.
End of another Session
>> Thursday, April 5, 2012
He had a couple of different classes. One was all women and the other was mixed.
On the last day of class two of his students who are cousins brought him a gift to say thank you!
Easter Party
I was so surprised at how many ladies came over to celebrate with us! They had never heard about Easter before and were surprised when we told them that this holiday is more important to us than Christmas!
A week with the Groves Family!
>> Tuesday, March 20, 2012
It was so encouraging to introduce them to our Arab friends and show them around our island! Their faith and trust in God is also an encouragement to us!
Jeni's Birthday
>> Saturday, March 10, 2012
Teacher Tim
>> Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Ice Skating
For our final meeting my group wanted to go ice skating. I had never been ice skating with Arabs before. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time!
Picnic at the Park
>> Sunday, February 19, 2012
We are so thankful for some time to be able to spend time outside before it gets too hot. Once it's hot, we are stuck inside so much.
So we all brought food to share, which was great!
Jordan
We had great food there. Jordan is in the part of the Middle East called the Levant where they have some of the best food! We loved the Shish Tawook, Hummus, bread and Lentil Soup!
Driving through Saudi Arabia
>> Friday, February 17, 2012
dinner and a movie
>> Monday, January 23, 2012
blessings in January
We've both made some new goals for this year and we're looking forward to what God has in store for us in 2012! We have started a new Bible reading plan and have enjoyed doing this together...what a privilege it is to have a husband that longs to know God and His word more and more!
Christmas with friends
>> Friday, December 30, 2011
One friend led us in a wonderful devotional time! We read through many old testament scriptures as the kids opened a boxes inside of boxes. Each one showed that Jesus was a very anticipated gift!
Christmas Eve
Christmas Eve was a really special time with friends. Some American friends just moved really close to us...walking distance! We had Joseph's favorite meal, chili, for dinner. This really made it special for him.
I have really missed Christmas Eve candlelight services in the States. So, we got some candles and sat outside. We read the Christmas story and sang Christmas carols by candlelight. It was the kind of moment that I wanted to pause, rewind, and play again. What a special time with good friends!
Christmas in the desert
>> Wednesday, December 28, 2011
It hasn't really felt like Christmas to me here. It takes a lot of effort to make it feel Christmasy. Everywhere we go we don't see, hear, and feel Christmas like the States. We don't hear the music or see the lights on houses.Actually, we see the opposite. Our Arab friends are wearing black for mourning. There are black flags and banners hanging in the village because of the mourning time. It's a little hard to feel festive when our friends are mourning.
So, in order to feel Christmasy, we went out to the desert and took some Christmas pictures. We've been listening to Christmas music in our house and car. Also, the kids have been playing with the nativity set and pretending to be the different characters in the story.
mourning
>> Tuesday, December 27, 2011
The first 10 days were a very intense time of gathering together to listen to readings. The men would march through the streets broadcasting a lamenting story of the martyrdom of Hussein, Mohammed's grandson. There was a drum too, which really added to the mournful feeling.
blending in with the locals
>> Tuesday, December 20, 2011
I had to wear this Abaaya. Actually, this is a specific kind of Abaaya that my friends call a Difa. Everyone in the village has one of these.
fun in the rain
In some ways it seems like this time has gone by in a blur...kind of like Joseph in the running picture! haha!
I'm thankful to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends
>> Saturday, November 26, 2011
We have a lot of kids and a lot of noise, but that's what makes it fun!
I'm thankful for good medical care
>> Friday, November 25, 2011
We've had plenty of experiences with doctors over the last few years. Both of the kids have had respiratory issues. I had two surgeries. We've also dealt with stomach ulcers and other things. They can do the procedures here that are available in the States. We really are blessed!
Faith has had a cold and so I took her to the doctor. I didn't want her to be suffering with ear infections or another kind of infection that could clear up with antibiotics. Turns out that it's viral...not a big deal...something else to be thankful for! :)
I'm thankful for headaches
>> Thursday, November 24, 2011
There have been times when I have to tell my kids, "Go say Thank You!" Sometimes some random person will give them a bag of chips and I make them say thank you! That's how I felt this week. God was telling me, his reluctant child, to be thankful for my headaches. He had to push me to do it, but I finally said thank you!
I'm thankful for my college years
>> Wednesday, November 23, 2011
I was in the elementary education program. When I graduated, I got my teaching license and started teaching at a public school. I felt well prepared for teaching!!
I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to go to college! I know it's something that not all women around the world get to do.
I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to go to college! I know it's something that not all women around the world get to do.
I'm thankful for our home
>> Tuesday, November 22, 2011
We never doubted that God would provide for us. He has provided a home for us many times since we've been overseas.
I really enjoyed looking back and remembering how much He's blessed us over the last 5 years. We stepped out of America to a place that was so foreign. He has provided for us again and again! Each place we've lived in has felt like home. God is so good!
I'm thankful for forgiveness
>> Monday, November 21, 2011
I love the promise in 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
I'm thankful for quiet times
>> Sunday, November 20, 2011
I started early with both Joseph and Faith having quiet time in the mornings. They can sit and look at books while I read my Bible and write in my journal. It's such a blessing that they can do this and it gives me some much needed time with the Lord!
Many times I have my own quiet time before they get up and then Joseph asks, "when will we have quiet time?"
More Turkey
>> Saturday, November 19, 2011
Istanbul was such an interesting place. It seemed to us that there is both Secularism and Islam mixed together. It certainly isn't as conservative as where we live now. We were also struck by how people didn't smile in public. It doesn't seem to be normal to make eye contact there.
Istanbul is a mega city on the Bosphorus Straight. It extends from Asia to Europe. Apparently, it's the only metropolis that is on two continents! So, we flew into Europe and stayed in Asia. Then we took the ferry a few times from Asia to Europe. Crazy, huh?
Below you can see a slideshow from both Istanbul and Antalya. Enjoy!
I'm thankful for digital cameras
My kids will never know the difference. As soon as we take a picture of them they want to see it!
Last Christmas my grandma gave us money to go towards a new camera and we are loving our new DSLR!!
I'm thankful for sleep
>> Friday, November 18, 2011
There are so many times that I wake up refreshed from a good night's sleep and thank Him for the gift of good sleep. Other times I don't get good sleep and I am exhausted the next day. Today I'm particularly thankful to be back to sleeping in my own bed with the kids sleeping in another room!
Sometimes when we travel we have no choice but to take the all night flight. Our most recent flight was from 9:30pm to 2:15am. The kids sleep well on planes...and for that I'm so thankful! When we ask our kids, "what do we do on airplanes?" They say, "we sleep!"
Ephesus
>> Thursday, November 17, 2011
Archeologists worked very hard to dig up this ancient city of Ephesus. It was so cool to imagine what life was like there 2,000 years ago!! It was once inhabited by 400,000 people, but earthquakes destroyed this city. No one lives there now.
We flew into a city called Izmir, which was once known as Smyrna. We stayed in a quaint little town called Selcuk, close to Ephesus. The people there were so kind to us! We also had dinner Kusadasi, a port town about a 30 minute drive from Ephesus.
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