Still catching up . . . :)

Brooks a few days old looking bright-eyed and bushy tailed

4 days old - I LOVE naked baby pictures!

All FIVE of my kiddos on Christmas morning!

Brooks taking a nap with his Aunt Melanie

Have I mentioned that I love where we live?! We get this amazing view from our balcony of shepherds and sheep!

How Brooks spends a lot of his days :)

Joel teaching the boys how to make a fire

Isaiah doing some rainy day reading.

LOVE this!

Look who found his thumb!

My big boys all decked out in their ties!

He's a Daddy's boy

Some good friends came from another city to visit for a few days

On January 31st we celebrated Yohanis' 3rd family day. He has grown and changed so much in 3 years and we are so thankful he's our son!

Some of Brooks' first smiles caught on camera

2 month old Brooks with big brother Colson

She loves "her" baby

Going for a walk with my two littlest and enjoying the beautiful weather!

Sleepover with cousins! My kids always look forward to Wednesdays evenings when we meet for church and have a big sleepover!

Photo catch-up!

Hello my dear blog readers - if anyone even reads this anymore?!?! I haven't blogged much lately, but I do want to keep record of our happenings, if for no other reason than that I like reading back over my blog and seeing what we've done, how the kids have grown, etc. So for the record, here are some pictures from the last 6 months.

Enjoying breakfast on the beach (August 2013)

I love that we only live about 30 minutes from the beach. On weekends in the summer, we like to get up and go early in the morning and then leave after lunch when it gets too hot.

Sitting with my sister dangling our legs in the Mediterranean Sea (September 2013)

First day of school picture. Yohanis started 2nd grade, Colson started 1st grade and Vienna started kindergarten (September 2013).

The boy cousins and our new kitty, Tiger. The kids found two kittens by the side of the road and we just couldn't say no. Obviously our boys need some lessons on the proper cat holding technique (September 2013).

Yohanis on his 8th birthday (October 19, 2013)

Vienna on her 5th birthday (October 20, 2013)

Joel doing what he loves IN TURKEY!!! This was such an answer to prayer. Joel was at the mechanic one afternoon getting our van fixed and after chatting for a bit and finding out that Joel is a potter, the mechanic excitedly called up his potter friend. The friend came over right away and invited Joel to go with him to his pottery shop. From there a great friendship was formed. Joel has been going to their shop almost every afternoon since October to learn their style of pottery and help them in whatever way he can. We had been praying for an opportunity for Joel to be able to work among Turks and God has been opening up the doors.

In October we hosted a team of students from the States for a few days. Joel was able to take them to the pottery shop and they got to try their hands at making pottery. After visiting the shop one afternoon, Joel took them on a prayer walk through the city. They met a very sweet woman and after talking with her for a bit they learned that she had been in an accident recently and had a lot of pain in her back. She had been in and out of the hospital for three days, so Joel asked if they could pray for her. She said yes very willingly and while they were praying she said that she felt a warmness in her back. Then after they were done, Joel told her to stand up and touch her toes. She looked up in amazement - God had healed her! We are praising God for this new relationship and for the miracles he is doing in this land!

Celebrating Isaiah's 2nd birthday with cousins (November 10, 2013)

A trip to the zoo with some dear friends who came to visit (November 2013)

Celebrating Thanksgiving with my sister and her family. Joel and Adam did ALL the cooking (even the desserts)! Are they not amazing? Sorry they are both taken :)

A trip to the beach. It wasn't even 70 degrees and my crazy kids went swimming (November 2013)

Decorating the Christmas tree (December 2013)

My kids with our dear, sweet friend and midwife, Thalia, who came for Brooks' birth, but went home without being able to "catch" him. If you missed his birth story keep scrolling down.