Christmas
>> Friday, December 28, 2012
Month of Mourning
>> Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Filled with Thankfulness
>> Friday, November 30, 2012
In this season of my life, I am mostly thankful for this time I have with my family. Being able to spend time together is something I'm so grateful for. Especially as I see other families watch their children leave the nest.
Thankfulness for Carie
>> Monday, November 26, 2012
I met her when I moved overseas in 2006. I've got so many memories with her! Most of my memories include being really dorky and laughing together. Sometimes we can get serious, though, and talk about deep things! I really appreciate how well she listens and gives honest feedback.
This picture of us was taken when we took a trip to Jordan together in April, 2007. So much has happened in both of our lives since then! That was before she had teenagers and before I had kids.
Thankfulness for symbolism
>> Saturday, November 24, 2012
As we prepare to put up our Christmas tree I was touched especially by how the pine tree dreamed of pointing people to God. In the end this tree was used to make the cross that Jesus died on. The cross is an amazing symbol of God's great love in sacrificing His son to die in our place.
During the Christmas season we celebrate Christ's birth and His life. But, ultimately, he came to die to pay for our sins and be raised again to make us right with God. (Rom 4:25)
Thankfulness that my kids love books
>> Friday, November 16, 2012
When I fist started teaching elementary school I fell in love with teaching reading! I think it's awesome to watch kids make connections and become independent readers! Once they can read, a whole new world is open to them for learning all kids of things.
Thankfulness for an Ethiopian Salon
>> Thursday, November 15, 2012
Every time we walk in Faith greets them with the one Ethiopian greeting that we remember. The ladies have known her since she was 10 months old and they always comment about how much she has grown!
They call Faith by the same nickname the nannies in Ethiopia called her: "Baity." It's short for Betelehem (which is translated Bethlehem). This is her Ethiopian name that we've kept as her middle name. We call her Faith Bethlehem a lot!
Thankfulness for my kids
>> Tuesday, November 13, 2012
I love kids! I always have! When I was 13 I started babysitting and I loved it. As soon as I turned 16 I got a job working at a preschool and worked there until I graduated from college. (I worked there when I was home for the summers.) During college I worked at a preschool and a daycare. After college I taught for 6 years in elementary school. I haven't been able to stay away from kids!
Thankfulness for my husband
>> Sunday, November 11, 2012
It's not easy to put into words how much Tim means to me. I couldn't have dreamed up a better husband. I often sit back and marvel at how well we go together! Though we're different in so many ways, his strengths fill my weaknesses! He's such a good listener and helps me to process things that happen. He helps me to see things from a different perspective.I love to laugh with Tim! He accepts me for who I am and I can be totally silly around him. I love to see him having fun with Joseph and Faith too! He's not afraid to wrestle with Joseph and be rough. Faith is his princess and she loves it when her daddy says, "You're a pretty girl!"
It's been such a blessing to watch him grow spiritually over the years! He's definitely the spiritual leader in our family and it's not hard for me to submit to him. His meekness and his fierce commitment to God are inspiring. He never hesitates to obey God and do exactly what He feels like God is leading him to do, even when it's not easy.
There are times when I feel down and he's quick to come alongside me and encourage me. He's so good at telling me just what I need to hear. It means so much to me when he says things like "I'm so glad that you're my wife." or "You're so beautiful!"
He's incredibly good to me. The way that he takes care of me when I'm in pain is amazing! He's so selfless and goes above and beyond what I would expect him to do.
I love walking through life with Tim! It's awesome to be able to look back and see our history together. It's also exciting to look ahead and think about our future together. I couldn't have chosen a better one to grow old with!
Thankfulness for my history with God
>> Thursday, November 8, 2012
I became a Christian when I was 13 years old. (In this picture of me, I'm a little younger than 13.) My dad had become a Christian a few years before that and I watched him change.
Thankfulness for church
>> Wednesday, November 7, 2012
I've had a lot of thoughts about this topic today and I'm not quite sure where to start. First of all, I want to say how thankful I am that through church I learned about Jesus and about following him.I'm thankful that church is so much bigger than a building. Growing up my dad used to say, "You can't go to church, because the church is you!" He got that line from a song by Acapella Vocal Band. I found a youtube of it here.
Thankfulness for discipline
>> Monday, November 5, 2012
This morning I woke up in pain with another headache. I have to admit that my first response is frustration, not a humble submission to God's sovereignty in my life. There's something humiliating about having chronic headaches. I end up being so dependent on Tim to take care of me and the kids. I like to be independent and I love taking care of my kids. Laying on the couch, flat on my back, isn't the way that I want to spend my day. Thankfulness for the time when my kids were little
>> Sunday, November 4, 2012
Thankfulness for Adoption
>> Saturday, November 3, 2012
This picture is our first picture as a family of four...every time I see it, I'm filled with gratefulness for the perfect way that God has built our family!
Thankfulness for Eid
>> Friday, November 2, 2012
The other is right after Hajj. Both Eids include getting dressed up and enjoying special food, much like we do for our holidays! There's lots of visiting going on during this time!
Thankfulness for our home
>> Thursday, November 1, 2012
Filled with Thankfulness
“My heart is filled with thankfulness” that's going to be the theme of my thankful blogs this November. I did this last year. Only this time I am not setting the goal of writing a blog each day during November. I'll just do as many as I can. It's so good for me to reflect on God's goodness to me. And, maybe, it can bless you too!
seeing Tim's work
>> Friday, October 5, 2012
I am so impressed with Tim as a teacher! He is good at building a rapport with his students. They obviously like being in his class! He learned some great skills at the CELTA training, which I know he's thankful for!
Studying Arabic...again!
This time is a gift and I need to make the most of it. Even though I know this in my head, it doesn't make learning Arabic any easier. This is such a hard language!
I've been thankful for God's grace as I've started studying again. I continue to pray that He will help me to love this language. When I'm really enjoying it, I'm more motivated to work at it!
we're under construction
Every time I see the construction signs I feel like God reminds me that I'm also under construction. I am always so grateful that God isn't finished working on me. He promises to complete His work in me. The construction process isn't pretty, but I'm thankful to know that he's working everything out for His glory and my good!
Bowling for Tim's Birthday!
>> Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Jordan
>> Thursday, September 6, 2012
Jordan is still the Middle East, but it has a different feel than the Gulf. Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Palestine are all considered a part of the Levant Region of the Middle East.
The plane ride was a little less than 3 hours long. It is amazing how relaxing it is to travel without kids! I enjoyed reading and journaling on the trip!
2 Parties in 1 Week
>> Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Hummus
>> Monday, September 3, 2012
I don't know why I didn't make it earlier because it's one of Joseph's favorite foods. (He has many favorite foods, though.) My one excuse is that until last year I didn't have a blender.
A Quilt for Megan
She is going to boarding school and I know she'll love it there! She's going to have so much fun living with a bunch of girls her age!
Eid Visiting
>> Saturday, August 25, 2012
Eid is a very big deal for our Muslim friends because there are only two each year. It's as big as Christmas is for us. So, they spend a lot of time preparing for this holiday. They have a lot of shopping to do for special food and for new clothes. It's very important to wear new clothes for the holidays and for the little girls to be matching! Very fun!
The women visit with the women; and the men visit with the men. There isn't any mixed gender visiting. So, the kids and I got dressed up and went visiting without Tim.
The kids enjoyed saying, "Eid Mubarak" because when they did people would hand them money!
Garga'oon
>> Sunday, August 5, 2012
Fixing our eyes on Christ
>> Monday, July 16, 2012
Trip to Dubai
>> Sunday, July 8, 2012
Our Teenagers
>> Sunday, June 24, 2012
I have to admit that I was a little nervous about having teenagers in the house again. (The last time we had teenagers was when the Groves were here.) I don't feel like I'm cool enough for teenagers because I don't understand their language. But Jared and Megan were kind enough to help me out! They used words that I don't typically say. Here are some of the words that I heard from them every day: oh snap, epic, awkward, fail, skyrim, mine craft, trolling, totes, bubbs, broski, chill, hipster and cool story bro. They had fun helping me come up with this list. They also laughed at me trying to use them correctly! haha!!
Father's Day 2012
>> Tuesday, June 19, 2012
This year we had a fun Father's Day! Joseph and Faith were so excited to celebrate their Daddy! The kids kept asking, "Is it Daddy's Day yet?"
Tim is a wonderful father! He loves these two so much! I love watching him love them. He's good at playing with them, taking care of them, training them and teaching them.
Mowlid
>> Monday, June 4, 2012
Remembrance is something that is very important in Shia Islam. They hold commemeration ceremonies by gathering together and reciting stories. A Mowlid is when they celebrate the birth of prophets or imams, even ladies from the family of their prophet Mohammed.
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!
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