Random Saturday Thoughts

I'm tired of being sick. We've all had our turns being sick this past month and now it's my turn. I'm ready for everyone to be completely healthy again and sleeping normally. Sick mommy+lots of sleepless nights+2 kids full of endless amounts of energy = one very tired, grouchy mommy.

I really need to spend some more time with God. I think that would help my stinky attitude and change my perspective on life.

I miss cheddar cheese. Is it possible to send cheese through the mail? Seriously? We've already received lots of Velveeta (thanks everyone), but that isn't real cheese so it doesn't count. So, who wants to send a big refrigerated box full of cheddar cheese to Turkey? Any takers? :)

On that note, I also really miss bacon, but we'd have to go to Greece to get some. I guess we could take the 30 minute ferry ride there and stock up. Hmmm. But Adam and Melanie were so kind to share their bacon bits with us that they received in their last package. I love those guys!

Learning a language is HARD! It's going to take lots of time, commitment, determination and LOTS of God's grace. I'm constantly being humbled and some days I just want to give up. These past 10 months have definitely been such an emotional roller coaster ride. Some days I feel like I'm really understanding Turkish and getting somewhere, but other days I feel so discouraged and that I'll never be able to fully understand and communicate. I really want to learn Turkish well, not just enough to get by!

My toes are freeeeeezing and I can't quite seem to get them warm!

I've been realizing how blessed we are. And really how much we need to be good stewards of the things we've been given. It has been interesting to study the life of Jesus these past couple of months and really pay attention to what he says about money and giving. Good stuff! We've been challenged a lot and it's led to some changes in our lives. Why can't we sacrifice so that others can have more? Why do we feel so entitled to everything? It's really not ours. Why we do save up money for an "emergency" when there are others living in one right now? Why do we even save at all? I've been thinking a lot about Matthew 6:19-21 lately.

I just finished reading the book about my Grandpa's life again and I wish I could have gotten to know him better while he was still alive. What an incredible man! Whenever he was asked where he was going, he would always say . . . "Oh I'm just stopping by Lancaster (or wherever he was) on my way to Heaven!" He really did live his life with an eternal perspective.

Has anyone read Crazy Love by Francis Chan? Great book, so if you haven't read it, go get it! Yeah that's right, go buy it right now!

There's not too much going on with our adoption right now. We're still waiting on our Dossier cover letter and our Power of Attorney form to be sent to the Ethiopian embassy in Washington DC. It should be another few weeks yet and then our Dossier can be assembled by our agency and shipped off to Ethiopia! I feel like we've been waiting forever when it's only been a couple of months. I'm really impatient, just ask my husband. I'm learning though, and really, the only way to grow my patience is to be put through circumstances where I have the opportunity to exercise patience. So bring it on!

By the way, I've always thought that I'm a really good speller, but I just spent a few minutes trying to figure out how to spell exercise. Geesh!



This picture has nothing to do with this post, but I like it!

I'm so thankful for my sister! She is my closest friend, besides my hubby, of course. I've been realizing how much harder life would be if my sister and her family weren't living here with us! They know us better than anyone else on this earth (our families even lived together for 3 months last year-no it was NOT fun, but now that we're living apart we really do appreciate each other so much more). I love when we sleep over at each others houses and put all our kids to bed and spend time praying together! God speaks so much more clearly when the 4 of us are seeking him together in prayer. It's been so awesome to experience hearing God's voice like that. Good times!

I love living in Turkey! Some people think that we've sacrificed so much by moving here, but I feel it's the opposite. Really, we've gained so much! Of course it's hard, some days I'm really homesick and miss family and friends a lot, but this life is so short and I'm living for the next one! Sometimes I just need to be reminded of that a lot. In the words of my Grandpa . . . "I'm just passing through Turkey on my way to Heaven." :)

Colson was like the bottomless pit today! I think he's having a growth spurt. For breakfast he had plain yogurt, a banana and baked oatmeal. Then for lunch he had a FULL plate of leftover lasagna, a pear, a tangerine, grapes, another plate of lasagna (because he still wasn't full) and then he wanted to eat breakfast all over again! He can totally out-eat me already.

Here is a picture of Turkish tea! You have to drink it in these teensy weensy glasses (yeah, it's like the law here).



It is a type of black tea produced on the eastern Black Sea coast. When we first moved here I didn't like it, but it's definitely growing on me (probably only because it is served EVERYWHERE you go!). So I had to learn how to make it . . . I never knew that making tea was such a complicated process. I'm thankful for my neighbor who was so sweet to teach me how to make it the right way.




First I needed to buy one of these! Turkish tea is typically prepared using this two stacked kettle especially designed for tea preparation. You have to boil some water in the larger lower kettle and then some of the water is used to fill the smaller kettle on top and steep several spoons of loose tea leaves, producing a very strong tea. When served, the remaining water is used to dilute the tea on an individual basis, giving each tea consumer the choice between strong or weak. (I got that off of google. hehehe)

I think I like having a blog. Hi to all you 5 (maybe?) readers out there! At least I know my Mom is always reading :) Love you, Mom (you need to figure out how to comment!)

Okay, I think that is enough randomness for one day :)