Christmas 2014
>> Sunday, December 28, 2014
Family Fun in Albuquerque (Nov & Dec)
>> Monday, December 22, 2014
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!
more fall
>> Thursday, November 20, 2014
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!
We're in New Mexico!
>> Thursday, October 16, 2014
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!
Santorini Island
>> Monday, July 14, 2014
Traveling through Athens
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!
Father's Day 2014
>> Friday, June 20, 2014
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!
Garga'oon 2014
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.
Village Funerals
>> Saturday, May 31, 2014
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.
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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.
Easter Party
>> Thursday, May 15, 2014
Mother's Day 2014
Swimming Fun
May 1st was Labor Day here and Tim was off of work! We decided to take a boat out to an island for some beach time. It's funny to think that we went from one island to another island for beach time, but there's not great beaches for swimming on the main island.
Easter 2014
>> Wednesday, April 30, 2014
It is such a blessing to be able to enjoy the good news of the gospel together as a family. We are all so grateful for what Christ did on the cross and the power displayed in his resurrection! There's nothing more important in our lives!
April with Arabs
I had so many opportunities to be with my friends in the village this month. It seemed like I was leaving the house wearing my hijab (head covering) a lot. I ended up going to several weddings and even a funeral.
Chris Tomlin Concert for my birthday!
>> Monday, March 31, 2014
Early in March I learned that Chris Tomlin was coming to the Middle East and I wanted this concert to be my birthday present! All of the details worked out for us to drive through Saudi to be able to be at this concert on March 20th!
Christmas Reading
>> Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Last year we hosted a Christmas Reading in January for the ladies in the village and we were excited to do it again this year! Many of my Arab friends had expressed that they were looking forward to this event again!Just like last year, we had to wait until their mourning time was finished until we could have a celebration. Last year several of my friends from the village came to my house, but I have gotten acquainted with many more since then.
I decided to invite everyone I could think of including their children, their sisters, and their mothers. I've been to many readings in the village and I've seen how they can pack into a place. Even still, I was nervous that either too many people would come or that nobody would come. It's not real easy to get a clear answer from people if they're coming or not. Usually they just say "Inshallah," which means "If God wills it."
Visiting Arabs w/ Tim's Parents
The first half of their time here was still mourning time for our friends in the village. So, they came with us experience the mourning. When we go to a mourning service we need to dress respectfully and the ladies have to cover our heads.
Christmas 2013
>> Monday, January 20, 2014
Family time w/ Tim's Parents
Thanksgiving
>> Saturday, November 30, 2013
This year Tim's Institute was closed for Thanksgiving. We woke up feeling very thankful for some extra time as a family!
Ashura
>> Saturday, November 16, 2013
The day after we got home the first 10 days of mourning started. Our friends call these first 10 days "Ashura." (which means 10 in Arabic.) They mourn the martyrdom of their prophet Mohammed's grandson, Hussein, in the battle of Karbala. You can read more about it here.
The Rest of October
>> Sunday, November 3, 2013
Tonya's visit
>> Monday, October 28, 2013
Tonya has four kids Tori is 12 years old and the triplets (Josh, Justin, and Jackie) are 11 years old. They are so sweet with Joseph and Faith! It's fun to see them together!
Karla's Visit
>> Saturday, October 19, 2013
I hope you enjoy all the fun pictures of our time with them!
Grandma & Grampa visit
>> Wednesday, October 16, 2013
They spoiled their grandkids and made lots of memories! We're so thankful that they came down to Albuquerque to spend time with us!
Balloon Fiesta 2013
>> Tuesday, October 15, 2013
There's just nothing like being on the field when hundreds of hot air balloons are being blown up and lifting off.
A couple fun events
>> Saturday, September 14, 2013
We've also had other things going on lately that have been lots of fun! Before the summer ended there's been some fun shows happening at the exhibition center. Last year we got to go to a show of The Sound of Music. This year enjoyed going to a couple of other fun shows!
Tim's Birthday
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!
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