Guess who learned to ride bike last weekend? That's right, Yohanis is officially riding without training wheels. I am so proud of him!

Joel had just as much fun teaching as Yohanis did learning. Joel is so good with our kids and such a patient daddy. He was just as excited as Yohanis was when he finally got it. 

Love them!

I can't get over how big he looks in this picture!

He always has a big smile for his Mommy

Sweet Summer

Last weekend we decided to rent a van for two days and do some fun things outside of the city. I grew up on a farm and I really miss living in the country, so it was really good for my soul to get out of the city and enjoy the peace and quiet of nature! The first day we went on a picnic with Adam and Mel, and the kids all had a blast throwing rocks in the creek, eating all sorts of goodies they aren't normally allowed to eat, playing ball, hiking and swimming. Our afternoon did get interrupted by some rain, but we hopped in the van for a half hour and read some books till the rain ended. It was so much fun!

Yohanis and his cousin Joanna. These two get along so well!

His smile gets me every time!

Love my boy.

My man loves to grill!

I just love this picture

Colson loves him some cherries

A herd of goats that invaded our picnic

Their shepherd

Such a sweet smile

Cousins and best buds. These two are exactly 9 months apart.

Mel and Adam and the kids slept at our house that night and the next day we headed out bright and early for the beach! It only takes a little over an hour to drive to some of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. This was Yohanis' first time at the beach and he LOVED it! It was actually pretty chilly, but he was splashing around in the water and building sand castles with his cousins the whole time even though he was shivering and his teeth were chattering. I love watching him experience things for the first time! It was such a fun two days and I love creating these special memories with my family!

Air Show

A few weekends ago we went to an airshow with some friends. The kids were so excited because they all love, love, love airplanes - especially Colson. He is in the paper airplane stage right now and asks me to make him an airplane about a dozen times a day. Of course my paper airplanes aren't nearly as good as Daddy's, but I'm sure getting a lot of practice :) And whenever we are outside and he spots an airplane in the sky he will stop whatever he is doing and watch it until it disappears from his sight.


We didn't last as long as we would have liked at the airshow since it was extremely hot and the planes were LOUD, which the kids did not like at all. And Colson was a little disappointed because apparently he thought he would get a ride in an airplane. But they all stood there with their hands over their ears watching the planes in awe. 

It was a fun afternoon and I'm glad the kids could experience it!  

Ups and Downs

So it's been awhile, eh?

I think I've been silent on here because I usually like this blog to be a happy, positive place but life isn't always happy and positive and so I've been quiet.

To be honest we've been dealing with some tough stuff. When we moved here we did not expect it would be easy and it certainly hasn't been. We live in a very spiritually dark place and we have felt that SO much lately. Recently we've seen some breakthroughs with our friends and it's so exciting to see God softening hearts to the truth. BUT it does not come without a fight and I feel like we've been in such an intense spiritual battle lately and we are weary.


So, if you would like to pray for us, we'd love that! We sent out an email to friends the other week asking them to pray and we've noticed a difference. If you would also like to pray for us please email me at joelandcharity@swissmail.org and I can give you more specific ways to pray. 

Okay, now on a more positive note:

I FINALLY went in for my first prenatal appointment. Yes, I'm 19 weeks pregnant and only went in last week. I was really dragging my feet about finding a place to get prenatal care here, partly because it's just so stressful doing things like that in a foreign country. But after praying about it and talking to some friends we found a great place to go. 

The doctor was really nice and between our Turkish and his English we did just fine. We had an ultrasound and got to see our baby and the doctor spent AT LEAST 15 minutes showing us all the little body parts and explaining everything to us. We are having a girl and couldn't be more excited!! We like to keep things even around here :)  And Vienna is beyond thrilled that she is getting a little sister.

 

I had to have some blood taken at my appointment and if you know me, you know that I am terrified of needles. Giving blood is seriously one of my biggest fears. If you even get close to me with a needle I will start to have a panic attack. And the older I get, the worse I am. I don't know how many times I've passed out now from getting a shot/giving blood, but I'm pleased to report that I made it through this time without passing out! I came close though and Joel said the look on my face was priceless when they stuck that needle in my vein. Luckily, I'm told all the time that I have "good veins." So the process is quick and usually painless, it's really just all in my head.  

Another answer to prayer is that my midwife friend in the States has agreed to come and attend the birth. I'm so excited! I really wanted to have a homebirth, but midwives are pretty much unheard of here in our city. And I really didn't want to go to the hospital here, especially since Joel would not be allowed in the delivery room, so we are so thankful for our friend who is willing to travel halfway around the world to deliver our little girl. God is good!

Stay tuned - I have lots of pictures coming up from our recent adventures.