Recent cuteness

Vienna and one of her besties, Sawyer. They are just 8 months apart in age. And they like to dress alike :)

Sawyer's little brother, Nash, and Isaiah. These two are just 6 months apart and are still figuring out their relationship. I have hopes that when Isaiah is done being two they will be best buddies!

Sawyer and Nash's little brother, Jones. He is just 3.5 months older than Brooks.

First time running through the sprinkler this summer.

Brooks at 4 months . . .

. . . and Brooks at 5 months

This is one of my favorite pictures. Ever. We were by the bay the other weekend as a storm was rolling in.

Joel at the pottery shop with his biggest piece ever.

Being two is rough!

Love these handsome boys!

First beach trip of the summer. I'm thankful the beach is only a half hour away and we can go on the weekends!

This boy and his cars! They go everywhere with him - in the bathtub, in his bed, in the van, right next to him while he eats dinner, everywhere! He always has at least two cars in his hands at all times. On this particular day he decided to take a nap with 7 cars. Oh how I love this little boy!

Vienna learned to ride bike without training wheels last weekend and I'm not sure who was more excited - her parents or her big brothers I'm glad she has such great brothers who encourage her, protect her and look out for her!

Children's Day 2014

On April 23rd Turkey celebrated Children's Day. We spent the afternoon at school watching the kids perform traditional dances they had been practicing since the beginning of the school year. It was fun a lot of fun and I'm so proud of my kiddos for how brave they were to jump full force into the Turkish language and culture.

Here is my post from last year and here is Children's Day 2012. My how they've grown!

Vienna with her cousin Katie

My 3 cuties all dressed up and ready to dance!

He's such a daddy's boy!

Yohanis with his cousin Andy

Colson with his cousin Ermiyas

Yohanis got to recite a poem in front of the whole school!

Vienna dancing with her class - it was hot and the poor girl was SO sweaty by the time she was done!

Colson dancing with his first grade class (Ermiyas, Katie and Colson are all in the same class - how fun!)

Yohanis with his second grade class!

Yohanis signed up to do all the extra dances - this boy loves to dance!

Cute little spectators!

And one tired little two year old boy!

And if those pictures didn't contain enough cuteness for you - here are some short video clips of each of their dances!

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens . . . these are a few of my favorite things :)

Today was hard and I'm tired. But instead of dwelling on all the hard things about being a mom to many small children and living in a foreign country, I will choose to be thankful for this life God has given me and count my blessings, because there are many!

It is a good reminder for me on the hard days, so here we go . . . 


I am thankful for local friends that really, really love us. On Joel's birthday TWO different families surprised him and showed up on our doorstep WITH cake. Joel felt really special and I'm thankful for deep, meaningful relationships with Turks!

I'm thankful that even though Joel and I miss our families in America SO MUCH, I still get to live right next door to my sister! How crazy is that? I love how God works and how he led both of our families to this country TOGETHER!

Just realized that I don't have any recent pictures of just me and my sis - but here is one of us with our brother Jordan (who should just move on over here too since he's the only sibling left in the States!)

I am so thankful for my sweet baby Brooks. Even though he still wakes me up multiple times every night and I'm tired, he is an absolute delight and brings so much joy to our family!

I am thankful that these guys now live down the street from us and we get to see them pretty much everyday. It's crazy for me to think about how two years ago Megan was only my "blog friend" and now I know her in real life and she is so dear to me!

I am thankful for a balcony. And for lazy Sunday morning pancake breakfasts with my family.

I am thankful for moments like this. I LOVE that Isaiah is old enough to join in on our tradition of sleeping in the living room! It won't be long till all 5 kiddos will be sleeping together on the couch and floor. Even though they fight like crazy and make me want to pull my hair out at times, they really are the best of friends and love each other so much. I'm glad that they have each other and are creating such special memories together.

I'm thankful that I married my best friend and that even after almost 9 years of marriage we are STILL best friends.

I'm thankful for my favorite spot in the house - the window seat. Our kids love hanging out here and I love to get up early and watch the sunrise and have a quiet time in this spot (not that I've done that lately, mind you, but I do have high hopes of doing it again one day when I'm getting better sleep).