Getting into the Word!

I've been so excited to see Yohanis and Colson enjoying reading so much lately. Bedtime for our kids is usually 8:00, but after the littles are tucked in, Yohanis and Colson get all comfy in their beds and read for a half hour or 45 minutes before it's lights out for them. 

I love reading and it makes me happy to see my kids enjoying it on their own. It was a slow start since they learned to read in Turkish first, but now that they have learned to read well in English, they are whizzing through some of the same books that I enjoyed at their age: the Boxcar children and the Chronicles of Narnia, to name a few.  And how awesome that they can read well in two languages! I'm so proud of these guys!

But the sweetest thing has been to see them getting our their Bibles that my mom got them for their birthdays and reading the Bible for themselves! I love that they are getting into God's word, without us even prompting them to.

Colson and Vienna were fighting the other day and I sent them to their rooms to cool off and when I went to talk to Colson, he was laying on his bed reading his Bible. And it changed his whole attitude! He went to his room very angry with his sister, but he came out truly sorry, gave his his sister a hug and made up. Normally it takes him awhile to get over a fight, but not this time. I'm thankful that the word of God is sinking down deep in his heart and helping him in those moments when he's frustrated and angry.

And for the sake of keeping it real: Yohanis and Colson got upset with each other recently and Colson started demanding that Yohanis forgive him. Yohanis wasn't quite ready to offer that forgiveness yet, as he was still mad at his brother. So Colson called to me and said, "Hey Mom, where is that verse in the Bible that talks about having to forgive someone when they ask?" Haha! He totally wanted to point out to Yohanis that he HAD to forgive him because, "God said!" Oh my, these kids! Looks like I've got a little zealot on my hands! :)

He builds me stuff

My husband is quite the handyman, he is always creating something beautiful. We both like re-purposing things, but he's the one that's good at it - I have the ideas and he makes them happen :) He really does have such an amazing talent!
 
There have been many times over our last 6 years here that we have rescued things from the dumpster and made them into something unique and beautiful. And when I say we, you know I mean Joel :) 

One of "our" first projects was when we came across an old window frame that had been discarded. With some paint, cardboard and hot glue, leftover curtain fabric and old pillowcases, it got turned into this:

This might be one of my most favorite things in our house! I saw it on pinterest and loved it. Joel made it for me out of an old pallet - my contribution was doing the lettering. This hangs in our hallway upstairs.

Yohanis and Colson's room has the best view and natural light and is probably my favorite room in the house. They used to have bunk beds that we got second-hand, but they were already about 20 years old when we got them and last year they literally fell apart. So Joel decided to make the boys new beds. It was a project he worked on together with the boys last summer. I just love how they turned out and what a special memory the boys will have of making their beds together with their dad!

Their wardrobe, chest of drawers and nightstand we got free from our neighbors. And with a little bit of paint, they were as good as new!

I also love this bookshelf ladder that Joel made that hangs above their beds.

Cute little end table, one of the first pieces of furniture that Joel made.

With 5 kids, we have so many jackets, bookbags, shoes, etc but one very TINY entryway. It's pretty much a big, cluttered mess, but the shoe rack that Joel made makes it a little better. And we found another old window that Joel turned into a wall shelf with key holders.

After Isaiah threw a car and broke our TV, Joel decided to make a TV cabinet with bi-fold doors. He also made the TV stand, which he just finished a few days ago. On the two bottom shelves I'm going to get a few bins or baskets to keep the kids toys in. Joel's furniture just keeps getting better and better as he learns new woodworking techniques (one of his favorite things to do is watch woodworking videos on YouTube).

This little couch was in the basement when we moved in, but the fabric was really old and worn. We picked out some fun fabric and Joel sewed (yes, he sews too) some slipcovers for it.

This was Vienna's Christmas present. She doesn't have much furniture in her room and she had been asking for a nightstand to keep her special stuff in. So Joel made this beautiful piece for her. It has a drawer that pulls out, but there is also a secret compartment in the very back that she can hide stuff in. So fun!

Another one of my favorite spots in our house. We turned the bay window into a nice little window seat by cutting a piece of foam to size and covering it with some fabric. Throw on some cute pillows and it's one of our favorite places to sit, with a great view. The corner bookshelf we rescued from the dumpster and painted. And Joel made the bench out of the headboard and footboard from one of the boys' old beds.

The view from the windowseat. Not bad!

My cute little pajama-clad models :)

January 2015 happenings

I present to you: The Month of January in Pictures (because this is pretty much just a photo blog now anyway) . . .

While the big kids are at school sometimes me and the littles go adventuring. These.two.

The kids love sleeping all snuggled up together on the couch over the weekend

"And we can call him Girly Goo" Haha, poor Vienna needs a sister, having 4 brothers is rough!

Celebrating Ethiopian Christmas with this crew :)

This is how Isaiah stays warm when the temperature drops to colder-than-normal for our part of the world.

Enjoying a campfire with good friends. Our friends introduced us to their tradition of making their own dough, wrapping it around a stick and cooking it over the fire. When the dough is cooked, you fill it with a hotdog or chicken or whatever you like. It's so fun and yummy!

When I was away for 4 days, not only did Joel manage to keep 5 kids alive and well, but he even made hot air balloons with them! Best daddy ever right here, I got a good one!

4 years ago (on January 31st) Yohanis joined our family. I can still remember back to that first week together - how we couldn't communicate with each other except for gestures, how all he wanted to eat was oranges, hard boiled eggs and toast and how deathly terrified he was of taking a bath. He has grown and changed so much since then and I couldn't imagine our lives without him. I am so incredibly thankful I get to be his mommy! Happy family day, Yohanis!
 

While Joel was out of town one weekend these two made me coffee and built me fires. I really do have the sweetest boys who will make great husbands some day.

Trip to the border - Part 2

There are 22 refugee camps in Turkey, but they are filled to overflowing and about 86 percent of Syrian refugees are living on the streets, in run-down abandoned buildings or wherever they can find shelter. And help doesn't always find those not registered in the camps. 

Turkey has had an open-door policy towards Syrians, but with the numbers increasing so rapidly and fewer than expected contributions from the international community being received, it just isn't enough. There have also been tensions rising between Turks and Syrians, especially in the job market.

On our last day we had the chance to visit one of the refugee camps. It was a new camp on the outskirts of town and there were still lots of tents needing to be built. In our short time there, we helped set up a tent and loved on the kids. It was really cold and there were even some children walking around barefoot in the freezing cold mud.

Even though the trip was hard for me and I had doubts about going, I'm glad that I did. God definitely stirred my heart for these refugees and has been reminding me to PRAY more frequently and has been burdening my heart to give in whatever ways we can and to get others involved too. We continue to be amazed at how many people have donated to buy supplies.

We do still want to continue making trips there, but plan them better and maybe focus on just one thing and do it well, rather than lots of different things and spreading ourselves too thin. Joel will be going in March for the sole purpose of putting up tents.

He will also be buying supplies while he's there, so if you would like to donate towards the purchase of needed supplies like food staples, diapers, baby formula, you can do that through Get Bridged (www.getbridged.org). 100 percent of your donation goes towards the supplies!

While we were in the camp, a bomb exploded in nearby Kobani

Tents that were recently set up, and lots more tent poles waiting to be used.

A truckload of people that just came in from Kobani

We also got to work with two men from the church packing up food (chickpeas, rice and lentils are pictured here) and distributing it to people living on the streets.

Trip to the border - Part 1

The war in Syria has been going on for almost 4 years now, with no end in sight.

45 percent of the country's population has been displaced. 45 percent! As in, almost half!!

Syrians are now the world’s largest refugee population. UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, said, “We have not seen a refugee outflow escalate at such a frightening rate since the Rwandan genocide almost 20 years ago.”

4 million Syrians have fled the horrors of war and sought refuge in other countries. 1.6 million of those refugees have come to Turkey and our hearts have been so burdened for these people that are trying to piece their lives back together in this country we call home.

Joel made a trip close to the border to help out last November and in January I was able to go, along with a group of friends, to a town about 5 miles from the Syrian border to volunteer in whatever ways we were needed. 

We were able to buy tons of supplies with all the money people so generously donated through Get Bridged (www.getbridged.org), we visited a refugee camp, helped package and distribute food, worked alongside the local church and helped relocate two families - one of the moms was very sick and in desperate need of good medical care.

The group of us that went

As we got closer to our destination we were greeted with the sight of bombs from nearby Kobani. Of course I realized we were going to a dangerous and unstable area and would be close to the war, but it became real as I saw the smoke rising into the air! **We were there while Kobani was still under ISIS control - Kurdish forces have since pushed ISIS out, and many Syrians have hopes of returning, but the city is left in shambles, completely destroyed!

All throughout the town there was such a heavy military presence. It felt so strange to see so many tanks and soldiers everywhere.

We met a Kurdish freedom fighter at one of the food depots (the lady second from the left). There are many women freedom fighters - ISIS soldiers believe that if they die by the hands of a woman, they will go straight to hell.

A foreign dignitary from Kobani giving a speech on the current state of affairs there.

One of the several refugee camps in the town we visited.

One morning we helped distribute monthly rations of food (which hardly seemed like enough to last a month) to those living on the street. The woman pictured here was living (along with many other people) in a crawlspace behind the curtain. She even invited us in to have coffee. I felt so humbled, here was this woman who had lost everything, inviting ME, of all people, into her home for coffee! 

Distributing the food - quite the crowd would gather around the back of the truck.

Some of the sweet kids we met

Packaging bags of sugar

Some of the goods we packaged - sugar, lentils, bulgur, chickpeas, noodles

Just a few more pictures then I'm done :)

Okay, okay, these are the last pictures I will post from my family's time here . . .

Bathtime is more fun with Mom-mom!

Story time with Aunt Melanie!

Eating one of our favorite foods here - pide!

Arm wrestling, cause that's how we roll!

Ringing in the new year all snuggled up on the couch with some of my favorite people

I just love these two pictures! We will miss the cousin sleepovers :(

Early morning snuggles by the fire with Eve and Paxton

We took Jordan and Rachael to have dinner with some of our friends. Rachael wanted to learn how to tie the headscarf, so she got a lesson and then they told her to keep it. Of course, Eve and Vienna wanted one too!