Tim's Birthday
>> Saturday, September 14, 2013
Swimming with Village Friends
>> Saturday, September 7, 2013
First Time on the Base
Celebrating New Births!
I love doing this! I love being a part of their lives in this way, it's fun! I really enjoy seeing the sisters, mothers, aunts, cousins all celebrating the birth of the new family member! Even dads and grandpas are around sometimes in the hospital room and they're obviously happy!
Eid Week
>> Thursday, August 22, 2013
Meeting Syrian Refugees
>> Wednesday, July 31, 2013
*There are also refugee camps, but we didn't make it to these areas.
Mount Nebo
>> Sunday, July 21, 2013
On Friday we went to Mount Nebo. It was one of the things on our list of things we wanted to do. Mount Nebo is where Moses died. After he died Joshua took over leadership and led God's people into the promised land. Before we got there we talked with the kids about what we were going to see. We explained that Moses wasn't allowed to enter the promised land because of an instance of disobedience. Numbers 20:12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
It was a good opportunity to talk with our kids about how Jesus was the only perfect person who ever lived. We also talked about God's grace in allowing Moses to see the land that his descendants would inherit.
Arabic Studies
>> Friday, July 19, 2013
We planned to do it during Ramadan when there weren't many classes happening at the institute where Tim teaches.
Ramadan in Jordan
There are, of course, some similarities to what we've experienced in the past years for Ramadan.
Many businesses are closed during the day...mostly restaurants. There are more restaurants open here than I've ever seen. They have to be creative, though, they don't appear to be open from the outside...you just have to know that they're open. Some of the drive throughs are open too.
It's really an important time for families to be together like it is in the gulf.
Jordan Zoo
>> Monday, July 15, 2013
Our second place in Jordan
We moved to a different apartment for the last three weeks that we're in Jordan and we're enjoying it! The view from our window is amazing!!It's a busy part of town. We like the busyness around us and being able to walk in our neighborhood is fun! It's really close to the famous 1st circle.
Jerash & The Dead Sea
>> Monday, July 8, 2013
First week in Jordan
We've been in Jordan for a little more than a week now. It's been an eventful and fun week of figuring out our way around town.The driving here is pretty crazy. It seems that there aren't any lanes and people are free to push into your space at any time! Tim is good at adapting, though. He's a great driver!
A trip through Saudi
>> Sunday, June 30, 2013
On Thursday and Friday we drove through Saudi Arabia to get to Jordan. We drove for two days, a total of 18 hours of driving. We were exhausted once we got here.We weren't the only ones with the idea to travel north for the summer. There were many Saudis with the same idea. We thought we had packed our car pretty full, but then we saw many cars like this one, full inside and bags stacked on top too!
Garga'oon
>> Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Every house prepares candy and treats for the kids. All of the kids and even lots of adults go house to house filling their bags with the treats! Some people say that it's like halloween in the States, but it feels really different for us. No one dresses up like characters. The children dress up in new clothes and the younger ones wear traditional clothes.
Father's Day
>> Friday, June 21, 2013
We had a fun Father's Day celebrating the wonderful Dad that Tim is! It's tradition for us to go bowling on Father's Day. All of us were looking forward to doing this!Tim is such a great dad! He's very involved and loves these kids. We're lucky to have Joseph and Faith too. I guess we're all blessed by each other!
Good-Bye to Jared
>> Saturday, June 15, 2013
Sometimes I'm painfully aware that time is passing quickly. Last week was Jared's last church with us before their family would go to the States for the summer. In September he will go to boarding school with his sister instead of coming back with his parents. We're going to miss him so much.It has been such a privilege to watch him grow! In the last few months he's gotten really good at playing guitar. On his last friday at church he lead worship with Tim! We were all so proud of him!
Celebrating 13 years of marriage!
>> Saturday, June 8, 2013
June 3rd is our Anniversary. This year we celebrated 13 years of marriage! We've spent half of our marriage living in the Middle East. Time sure flies! It's hard to believe that we were in the States for 6 1/2 years and we've been overseas for the same amount of time.In the next 13 years we look forward to watching our kids get through the school years. As we step into this new stage of life we're confident that God will continue to be faithful!
Festival At The Sea
>> Sunday, May 26, 2013
We live in a very active community, which is a lot of fun! We can't make it to all of the activities, but we try! The people in this village have really embraced us and they seem to love having us be a part of their activities. It sure makes it easy to love them!Yesterday afternoon before sunset there was a festival by the sea! I hope you enjoy the pictures we took there.
Visiting
>> Friday, May 24, 2013
Sometimes we are out and about visiting with Arab friends a lot. Other times they are busy with things and aren't available as much. Lately we've been able to be with our friends visiting more and it's been so much fun!We've visited in lots of different ways. We have had friends over to our house, we've gone to their house, we've been to the park, and we've been to some religious celebrations. I really love these friends and these memories that we're making!
Mother's Day
>> Monday, May 13, 2013
Mother's Day was a special day! It's kinda fun because I get to have two Mother's Day celebrations...one in March because that's the Arab Mother's Day and one in May! I'm just doubly blessed! I guess there are benefits to living in two cultures.Sunday is a school day so after school we hurried home and had an early lunch and finished homework. The kids and Tim snuck off to another room to make me a card. I love these handmade creations...I will forever treasure them!
Tim and the kids were so sweet to me and made me feel so special! I couldn't have been more happy!
Easter Reading
>> Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Gathering to sit and listen to a "reading" is normal for our Muslim friends. This wasn't strange at all for them. I had practiced reading Mark 15:42-16:14 in Arabic for a couple of weeks leading up to this event.
Before We sat down for the reading, we colored eggs and gave out Easter Baskets. The children found eggs that we had hidden in the yard! It was such a fun, memorable time!
Celebrating Easter
>> Monday, April 22, 2013
The true reason for celebrating Easter, the resurrection of Jesus, is the foundation of who we are! It's the most important thing that we celebrate!
It wasn't difficult for us to explain to our kids that Easter Eggs represent the new life that we have through Christ. Dyeing eggs and having an egg hunt were so much fun!
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It wasn't difficult for us to explain to our kids that Easter Eggs represent the new life that we have through Christ. Dyeing eggs and having an egg hunt were so much fun!
Leading up to Easter we talked so much about why Jesus had to die. If you ask our kids they'll say "he died for our sins." We also talked about how Jesus is God and he has power over death. It was such a delight to sing Easter hymns together. There's nothing like hearing Joseph and Faith's sweet voices singing, "Alive, alive, alive forevermore! My Jesus is alive, alive forevermore!"
Joseph and Faith are familiar with the details of the Easter story. They watched a cartoon version of the story over and over and memorized it. They wouldn't stop talking about it. Of course they were ready to celebrate this foundation of our faith!
Village Events
>> Thursday, April 18, 2013
Ethiopian Salon
Faith's Ethiopian name, which is now her middle name, is Betelehem. Her nickname in the orphanage was Baytie. It's the same name that these ladies call her when they see her. "Here comes Baytie!" Faith doesn't seem to understand, but I think it's so sweet!
Visiting Daddy at Work
>> Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Birthday Celebration
>> Tuesday, April 2, 2013
The kids were really sweet to make me feel special on my birthday, which was nice! Tim helped them make me a sweet card and sing happy birthday ...what a wonderful husband!
February and March were intense months in our country and especially in our village. These months are the anniversary of when the revolution here started. There was a lot of protesting and remembering. We stayed alert and aware of what was happening in order to stay out of the action. There was added stress in our lives because of this, but we're so thankful that God has been taking care of us! He continues to show us his comfort and grace in the midst of all of this. We're thankful that God is our Father!Because of this I've gotten behind in blogging. I feel like I've been in a fog and now it's lifting.
♪♫"I can see clearly now the rain is gone..."♫♪
Trip to the Wildlife Park
>> Monday, February 11, 2013
So we packed up our lunches and crammed into the van together! This picture was taken before 3 more kids and another mom joined us. We had a total of 8 kids and 3 moms in the van together. We had another friend following us with her three small children.
Tim Teaching Nov/Dec
>> Sunday, January 27, 2013
He did really well with doing some of the director role!
January Christmas Party
>> Friday, January 25, 2013
It was a crazy party to plan because Arabs think and plan very differently than I do. I wasn't honestly sure what was going to happen...if anyone was going to come or not. They were nervous to come to my house because they didn't know what to expect at a Christian's house.
I tried to do things that my Arab friends would be familiar with so that it wouldn't be so weird for them. I was thankful to have my "sisters" come help me with this party. I couldn't have done it without their help!
NYE in Dubai
>> Thursday, January 3, 2013
This year, Dubai was boasting about their fireworks display from the Burj Khalifa, tallest building in the world. That made us excited!
We really enjoyed spending time together without the kids. They stayed at Keith & Carie's house. Even though Faith just got stitches, I knew she was in good hands with Carie, a former nurse.
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!
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