Thankful for conversations with my husband

Sometimes our "alone time" means having the kids sit at a different table so we can talk a little bit. But, no matter how it comes, I'm thankful for one-on-one time with my husband. I love processing life with Tim. I love laughing and joking. I love that I can be myself with him and he still accepts me.

He's not a talkative person all the time, but I always love it when he starts talking. I love hearing his thoughts and his perspective. He's always inspired me because he really listens to me, but I also really enjoy listening to him.

When he took me out on our very first date, we just talked for hours. Ever since then we've always enjoyed just talking. Sometimes it's dreaming about what's next or processing about things that just happened. I love connecting with him through conversation! 

Read more...

Thankful for Joseph's helpfulness

Joseph has such a sweet, servant's heart and I love this about him! I'm thankful that he steps up and helps me so much! He takes on so much responsibility around the house. Sometimes he needs some direction, but once he knows what's expected he does just that.

Tim has told him that when he's not around, Joseph needs to take care of us three girls. He takes that seriously. In this picture he's pushing the grocery cart with his sister in it. I'm sure there's many more pictures I could have used.

I'm thankful for Joseph's helpfulness. 

Read more...

Thankful for my three kids

These three kids sure make my life interesting! We've been on a lot of adventures together. They're always excited about new experiences. It's fun to celebrate life with them! You won't hear me saying it's always easy...far from it. But, I wouldn't trade this life raising these three kids for anything.

I'm so grateful for the blessings that they are to me. I'm also thankful for the challenges that they've brought. I've learned so much about how to cling to the Lord. I've been so humbled and more aware of my need for Christ because of these three kids. I've also been in awe of their simple childlike faith! I have learned so much and grown so much since I became a mom. I hope that they will learn something from me too...mostly, how to depend on the Lord in everything! 

Read more...

Thankful for sunsets

 I LOVE sunsets! I think they're so beautiful. I would say that the the Middle Eastern sunsets are the best...but then there are amazing sunsets in Colorado and New Mexico too. I just love the way the sky changes colors. Every evening it's just a little different.
Our God is so creative! He gives us such beautiful things to enjoy. It's a reflection of his glory. As we enjoy his creation, we enjoy Him! He's so good and so beautiful!

Read more...

Thankful for our American citizenship

I'm thankful for our American citizenship! We have freedoms as Americans (even living overseas) that so many people take for granted. I love our country and count myself blessed to have been born and raised there.
When Joseph and Faith were adopted they automatically became American citizens through parentage. As soon as they crossed U.S. soil, they were Americans. What a gift they've been given! Even though Eve was born in the Middle East, all we had to do to get her U.S. passport was make an appearance at the U.S. Embassy.
Sometimes I think about how this is a picture of our spiritual citizenship that's in heaven only because of our Father. We are given a new citizenship when we trust Jesus as our savior. In that moment, we get a new identity! That's something I never want to take for granted. 

Read more...

Thankful for imagination

I am thankful that Eve has such a great imagination. When she was a baby she would sit and watch Joseph and Faith play for hours. It didn't take long for her to start using her own imagination. Her toys go on so many adventures and it's fun to listen in. When she was smaller, I'd hear her yelling in her room "Mommy! Mommy!" I'd come running only to find out that her baby doll was calling and she didn't really want me at all.

Sometimes she gets so into her play that she simply doesn't hear us when we try to interact with her. It takes a few times to say, "Eve, it's time for dinner!"

In addition to playing, she also likes to make up songs and will often be belting it out around the house. If we go to a park and she starts to feel comfortable, she'll start singing one of her songs. She will get a lot attention when she does this and she doesn't mind.

Read more...

Thankful for a musical husband

Joseph and Faith are homeschooled and so we have to make sure they get all of their extra curricular needs met. I'm not musical at all, but Tim is. I'm so thankful that Tim enjoys teaching the kids their music lessons. Joseph plays the drums and Faith plays the guitar.

They're both at the beginner level with a lot of potential to improve. Now they need to learn the importance of diligent practice.

I'm just very thankful that they have the option to learn about music through their dad!

Read more...

Thankful for bikes

I loved riding bikes in my neighborhood when I was a kid! I can almost feel the wind blowing my hair as I sped along familiar sidewalks. This is something I wanted for my kids and I'm so thankful that we have a place for them to ride bikes!

Since they homeschool, I can send them outside mid morning and they ride around for 20 minutes or so between subjects. It's good for them to be able to be outside! I'm thankful that we live in a place where I can feel comfortable sending them out to ride bikes.

Before we moved, we lived on a compound for 8 years and had a place for riding bikes. We hoped for a similar situation in our new country and we're thankful for this gift! 

Read more...

Thankful for Soccer

Before we moved to our new city, we started praying for things we felt we need. God has so graciously provided for all of our needs. Actually, he's blessed us with even more than we need! One of the things we prayed for was a way for Joseph to get out and be with other boys his age. We found a club that he can join and there's a soccer training 4 times a week. The other boys his age are nice to him and he's learning some good skills with the soccer ball!

I'm so thankful that Joseph has this opportunity to have a fun hobby and meet other boys. This isn't a great picture, but he's in the orange vest in the middle of the picture. 

Read more...

Thankful for nice parks

We are getting used to a new city in a new country. Everything seems different and it's a lot to get used to. In some ways it's fun and exciting and in some ways it just feels weird. It's very slowly starting to feel like home.

Now that the weather is starting to cool down, we're able to get outside more. During the summer it's so hot that just walking outside feels like you're in an oven. So, being able to be outside feels like such a gift!

There's a few really nice parks in our city and I'm excited to go to them! The one in the picture is 5 minutes from our house. We've driven by it so many times, but no one has been there since it's been so hot. This weekend we went to the park one evening as a family and there were families hanging out together. Some families were grilling, some riding bikes, some walking and many just sitting on a mat enjoying some tea.

I went by myself this morning (which I hope to do often during the cooler weather) and walked around. Since it was a Saturday, there were a few families there on their mats having breakfast together. I loved seeing the families together as I was walking and listening to a podcast. I'm so thankful for this park that's so inviting for families to come and spend time outside together! I'm looking forward to many more evenings and mornings there! 

Read more...

Thankful for my Shepherd

This morning I was reading in John 10 and I found myself very thankful that I have a shepherd that leads me! I am so thankful that my Shepherd has called out to me and leads me along the right paths.

Over the last year or so I have been praying that God would lead me and guide me. He's brought me to places of rest and carried me through times of unknown and uncertainty. He's so gentle and caring, always working things out for my good and for His glory! 

This old song came to mind as I was reading and praying this morning. He knows my name! He knows me so well and is so patient with me. It actually was His design to make me the way I am and He loves me. This is so comforting to me. 

Read more...

November Thankfulness

I love November! It's always such a special time of seeing changes happen. We don't always get to see the leaves changing, but we do see other kinds of changes in the Middle East. This is the time of year that the weather starts to cool down and we get to spend a lot more time outside.

This year has been full of so many changes for our family. We've seen God's hand in all of it and we're so thankful! I'm bubbling over with thankfulness and I can't wait to share it!
I plan to write a blogpost each day for the month of November as we prepare for Thanksgiving.  It has been a very long time since I've done this. A lot of time has passed by since I last made this kind of commitment to write a blog post every day for 30 days. Over time my gratitude has only grown and I have more and more things to be thankful for!

Read more...

2018

It's so fulfilling to me to reflect back on 2018. This year was very full. Even though 12 pictures doesn't tell the whole story, it's a nice overview of what our life was like this year. We are very blessed!

Here's 2018 in 12 pictures...

January - Enjoying the dolphins in Oman

February - Joseph got baptized

March - Jeni turned 40 

April - Jeni, Joseph, & Faith went to Egypt

May - Jeni and all kids went to Kuwait

June - Joseph got his yellow belt in Jujitsu

July - Jeni taught English in the village 

August - Eid in the village 

September - Eve started Arabic preschool 

October - Joseph & Faith are in 4th & 5th grade 

November - seeing the sights on a road trip 

December - Celebrating Christmas

Read more...

Just some thoughts

Last year I read through the entire Bible and this is another goal for 2018. God’s word is packed with so much wonderful truth and I’m excited to read it again and learn more new things! Isn’t it amazing that we can read the same passages again and again and still learn new things? It really proves that God’s word is living and active! 

Read more »

Read more...

2017 in pictures

2017 was a great year for our family! Here’s our year in pictures…

January - Faith’s new bike for her birthday
February - Paris
March - Tim sang with his sisters at their parents’ 50th anniversary party 
April - Celebrating Jeni’s parents’ 40th wedding anniversary
May - Faith got baptized on Mother’s Day
June - Flag football
July - Enjoyed time with the Brenemans
August - Matching dresses for Eid
September - Tim’s 40th Birthday
October - Had a fun visit with the Cranes
November - Cheered for Casie in the Ironman
December - Christmas

Read more...

2016 in pictures

2016 was a great year for our family! Here's our year in pictures...

January - Sri Lanka

February - Tim with his sisters in Colorado

March - Jeni was so happy to meet her new nephew

April - Eve turned one year old

May - Faith & Eve dressed in traditional dresses for Garga’oon

June - Rome

July - Joseph & Mohammed sports camp

August - Joseph in 3rd grade; Faith in 2nd grade

September - Eid Al Adha

October - Ashura

November - Dubai

December - Christmas 

Read more...

Italy Trip

We recently went to Italy for a family vacation and had a great time! Our first stop was the Colosseum in Rome. We stayed in an apartment that was only a five minute walk from the Colosseum and the kids loved that!

Read more »

Read more...

Albuquerque 2016

In the middle of our trip to the States we went to Albuquerque. The 1 hour plane ride from Denver to Albuquerque was so easy compared to the 24 hours of total travel time from the Middle East. Plus we had gotten through jet lag and felt much more rested.

Read more »

Read more...

Colorado 2016

We took a trip to the States in February/March and it was so good to be able to see our family! The big reason that we went was to introduce Eve to her extended family. She had been able to meet Tim's mom & sister when they came to help after her birth. She had also gotten to meet Jeni's mom when they met up in Germany. But there were many more people that she hadn't had the chance to meet yet.

We had a good time traveling with the five of us! Joseph and Faith are super easy to travel with. Between all of us, we can share the responsibility of Eve. Of course we were so glad when we finally arrived!

Read more »

Read more...

Sri Lanka

Sometimes we get the chance to travel to interesting places. Tim is a manager at the institute he works at and they recently went away on a managers retreat. The kids and I got to tag along. The three managers had planning meetings for some of the time. We got some down time and some fun time! We're glad we got to go to Sri Lanka.

Read more »

Read more...

Seeing Grandma in Germany

The last week of September, Eve and I took a little trip to Germany. We went to meet up with my mom, who came from the States. We had a wonderful week just hanging out together. It was such a nice time for Grandma and Eve to meet and get to know each other.

We had such a nice time taking things slowly because we had to stop frequently to care for Eve. This time was such a gift for all three of us. Such treasured memories!

Read more »

Read more...

Nammy & Aunt Tonya's visit

Tim's mom and oldest sister, Tonya, came to visit in June and it was a delightful time! We have some really sweet memories that we'll treasure.

Here are some pictures of our time with them...

Read more »

Read more...

Eve's first two weeks home

What a joy it was to come home with our new baby girl! Joseph and Faith were delighted to have her home. They couldn't wait to hold her!

Read more »

Read more...

2 1/2 weeks in the NICU

Eve was born 6 weeks early and with low birth weight. She ended up staying in the NICU for 19 days, which felt like an eternity! We longed to have our baby girl home with us.

We came to the hospital every day. It's a brand new government hospital with great equipment and a wonderful staff. We were so thankful that there's such a nice facility here!

It takes about 20-30 minutes to get there from our house.

Read more »

Read more...

Eve's Birth *updated*

On April 13th we found ourselves in "The Happiest Operation Room" for a c-section. It was exactly 24 hours after my appointment where we found out that our baby girl hadn't grown and needed to come out. I was exactly 34 weeks pregnant and so thankful that we made it that far.

Read more »

Read more...

Birth Announcement

Our baby girl was born 6 weeks earlier than expected. I went to my doctor appointment and it was obvious that she had stopped growing and the blood flow in the umbilical cord was decreased. She was still moving and her heartbeat was ok, so she wasn't in an emergency situation yet. But the doctor was very concerned and said she needed to come out within 24 hours.

She's tiny, but so sweet! She's totally captured our hearts already! She is in the NICU now and she will be until she gains enough weight to be released. We're thankful that she is stable and healthy otherwise.

Read more...

Easter 2015

Easter was different this year because of my pregnancy...I'm slowing down more and more these days!

But we still got to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior. This holiday is the foundation of our faith and all of the details around the story have been the main topic of conversation at our house.

I love how Faith referred to "Jojo of Arimathea" and it sounded so normal! haha!

We got up before dawn and went to the sunrise service at the church here. It was really fun to celebrate with believers from so many different nationalities.

Read more »

Read more...

Recap of March

I can't believe tomorrow is the last day of March already! This month has flown by, but it's been a great month! It was an entire month of being home and jumping into our life. We've had a lot of great family time, which has been a blessing.

Below are a few pictures and stories of what our life has looked like this month. Hopefully this can give me a jump start and I can get back into updating this blog regularly.

Read more »

Read more...

Kuwait

We had only been home a couple of weeks when we packed up again for a quick trip to Kuwait. Tim is one of 3 managers at the institute where he works. They decided to have a planning retreat for the managers. It was a time of mapping out this year at the office. It was also a time of reviewing last year's business and celebrating how much God has blessed the institute!

The kids and I went along for the ride! I haven't had a role at the institute because my responsibilities are at home. Homeschooling takes a lot of my focus and I am glad to be teaching my children.

Read more »

Read more...

Baby Shower

Two days before we left the States we had a baby shower! We were blessed with so much baby stuff and we feel like we're all set for this baby to come! I've been a little intimidated by all that we needed since we have gotten rid of all the baby stuff that we had from Joseph & Faith. Plus, we've never had a newborn...I have so much to learn!

My sweet mother-in-law did so much work preparing for this shower. She and a few others made food and decorated the place so cute! I am so grateful!

Read more »

Read more...

We're having a BABY!!

Not long after we got to the States we found out that Jeni is pregnant! We were shocked!! This is such a special blessing that we didn't expect. In fact, we thought it was impossible! But, God has a way of proving that He is in control and nothing is impossible with Him. Our baby GIRL is due May 24th and we couldn't be happier!
By now we are half-way through the pregnancy and things are going really well! The first trimester was tough with nausea, but the second trimester has been better. The baby is growing and developing normally according to the ultrasounds and tests we had done while we were in the States.
God is so good to us! 

Read more...

Christmas 2014

Spending Christmas in Colorado with family was special because all of Tim's family and most of my family was in town. We spent Christmas Eve with the Saltzmans and Christmas Day with the Baldwins.

Read more »

Read more...

Family Fun in Albuquerque (Nov & Dec)

November and December flew by with a lot of fun activities!

On November 21st we celebrated 5 years since Faith joined our family. I blogged about it here.

A few days later Tim's sister, Karla, and her family came to Albuquerque for the week of Thanksgiving! It's always fun to see the cousins enjoying each other and getting to spend some quality time as families!

Read more »

Read more...

more fall

We've been enjoying the States. Here are some pictures to catch up on part of October and part of November.
We're starting to miss our life in the Middle East. We missed an important time for our friends, which was hard for us. But, we're glad to be here in America for a little bit.
We're looking forward to the holidays in the States, which have such a different feel than in the Middle East!

Read more »

Read more...

We're in New Mexico!

Maybe you have wondered where we are and what we're doing. I thought I'd take a few minutes and share what we've been up to.

We are spending this fall semester in America! We're in New Mexico, where we're eating lots of green chili! We've been here for about a month and a half. It's been a crazy fun time catching up with family! 

Read more »

Read more...

Santorini Island

After Athens we were excited to go to the island called Santorini! We were excited about the beautiful views and some relaxing on the beach. In order to get there we took an 8 hour long ferry ride. We packed up our baggage and headed to the port.

Read more »

Read more...

Traveling through Athens

We were really excited leading up to our trip to Santorini! There were two parts to our trip, one was close to Athens and the other part was on an island called Santorini. This post is about the first part.

Our flight was at 4:00am, so that meant we had to be at the airport by 2:00am. That was brutal, but we were so excited it didn't matter too much. We slept as much as we could on the plane. We were excited when we looked out the window and saw the Islands! Beautiful!

Read more »

Read more...

Father's Day 2014

Father's Day is something that we always look forward to in June! Joseph and Faith are so blessed to have Tim as their father! They woke up and right away started telling him "Happy Father's Day!"

Before going bowling, which is our Father's Day tradition, we went to dinner. Tim chose IHOP for dinner! It's fairly new here and it's always special to have a new American restaurant!

Read more »

Read more...

Garga'oon 2014

Every year, 2 weeks before Ramadan, there's an event called "Garga'oon." Each house has candy and the kids go house to house to get some! They say "Nasifa Hallawah" when they come to the door.

Our kids get it mixed up with Halloween, but we think it's very different. For Halloween they get dressed up as characters or something else, but for Garga'oon the boys wear button up shirts and the girls wear traditional dresses. Here's a picture of Joseph and Faith dressed and ready with their Garga'oon bags.

Read more »

Read more...

Village Funerals

I've been to four funerals in the last two months. It's probably the hardest thing I've done. It's heartbreaking to watch a family mourn the loss of a loved one. The way that they mourn here is different than the way we do in the States.

When someone dies they don't embalm the body. They bury the body within 3 days and sometimes even within the first day. They don't use a coffin, but simply put the body into the ground. I don't know all of the customs, but I do know that they lay the body facing Mecca and I'm not sure why.

This picture is of the cemetery behind the mosque in our village where several burials have happened recently.

Read more »

Read more...