10th Anniversary!

We celebrated our 10TH anniversary on July 9. 10 years! A whole DECADE!  

It's crazy how the last 10 years seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, but at the same time it feels like we've been married forever!

We were just babies when we got married and we really did grow up together. Now here we are: 10 years, 5 kids and one move overseas later and I couldn't be more thankful!

I am so grateful for this man and glad to be able to say that after 10 years we are just as happy and just as in love (actually much more so) as the day we got married.


We are planning on taking a special anniversary trip in the fall to celebrate 10 years and I am SO excited to go away for a week with just Joel. We've never done something like that, so I'm really looking forward to it. 

But on our actual anniversary we celebrated with a family day at our favorite beach spot close to home.

Somehow Isaiah didn't end up in any pictures, oops!

Click here to read our love story :)

Sunday morning

It is 9:30 on a Sunday morning and I have a quiet house all to myself. Joel took the kids down to my sister's house and they are having "kids church." This afternoon we will meet together in a friend's home for church and it will be a beautiful mix of languages and cultures and people gathered together to worship and pray. Some days, like today, when I really take the time to sit and think about it, it truly amazes me how this community came to be and I am so thankful for how God is moving and what he is doing here!

Right now I have parked my butt in my favorite chair directly in front of our air conditioning unit, since it's already 95 degrees outside. The lentil soup for our lunch is in the pressure cooker and I can hear its soft whistle growing louder. Besides that and the whirr of the washing machine, the house is quiet and I am thoroughly enjoying having space to be just me, to have a break, take a deep breath and to think my own thoughts. To hear God's gentle whisper reminding me to just BE still and know. Know that He is good and that in his presence is where I find rest and joy and I am filled up to keep on going, even on those days when I feel so bone-weary. 

Honestly, being a mom has felt so draining lately, it has been sucking all the life and joy right out of me. I have been snappy and irritated with my kids and am completely forgetting to stop and savor those sweet moments throughout my day because I can't seem to just let go and forget about all the never-ending work of keeping the household running. I am tired and I know it's because it has been a good long time since I've pulled out my Bible and spent more than a few minutes with God. I know I need to, but why is it so hard to do?! Why is it so ingrained in me to just produce, produce, produce instead of just BE?!

Last night my sister and her family slept over and it was so good for my soul! Cousins whispering and giggling (and the boys wrestling) late into the night until they finally settled down and fell asleep while talking to each other. Us adults enjoying snacking on watermelon, pistachios and icecream and talking together. Oh how I have missed those times while they were in the States and it was so good to be together like that again, to share our hearts, to laugh, to encourage and pray for one another, to hear those God stories from each others summers, to be encouraged by how God is moving. It makes me so excited for what is to come here in this place!!

I was reading Psalms 105 this morning and the beginning really stuck out to me: how important it is to REMEMBER what God has done, PRAISE him for it and TELL those wonderful acts to others! To remember the wonders and miracles he has done and give glory to His name. I have been challenged lately to do a better job recording these things. God has done MANY great works in our lives and we have seen amazing things, but it is crazy how fast we forget. And I don't want to forget the good things he has done, to ever stop praising him for his kindness. I want to record these things, celebrate them and have them be stories that my kids pass on to their kids! Just like the Israelites were told to do.

Colson also reminded me of this the other night as we were talking in bed. Yohanis and Colson were asking how I decided to follow Jesus, so I told them my story and then I thought it would be cool to hear them share their stories in their own words (they both recently decided to give their lives to the Lord).

Colson's story really hit me again. Two summers ago, when he was 6, we returned to the States for the summer. We were on the airplane and he needed to use bathroom. He ended up getting stuck in there. He couldn't figure out how to open the door and he was really scared and crying for us (but we couldn't hear him). But then he remembered to pray and he asked God to help him and as soon as he did that, he saw where to open the door and was able to get out. That was huge for him and he said it was after this experience that he started trusting God and wanting to know him more. His testimony is so powerful to me, how he cried out to God for help and God answered him and came to his rescue. He calls it his miracle :) 

Sorry I just do not know how to end this post, how to tie it up in a nice pretty bow. I know this post is all over the place and has many unrelated thoughts. But that is just reality in the life of a scatterbrained, over-tired mom to five and I'm okay with that :)

Till next time . . .

Summer fun!

The kids with each of their teachers receiving their report cards on the last day of school!

Vienna with her fist grade class celebrating the end of the school year with poems and dancing! Poor Vienna was so nervous - you can tell by the way she's standing (and of course the look on her face).

Great way to start summer - snacking on strawberries in our backyard!

This kid cracks me up every single day. Everybody needs a little Brooks in their life.

Some of our best friends are in the States right now for the summer, but before they left we got to go on a double date! We biked along the bay, had a yummy dinner and stayed up too late talking and laughing and eating sunflower seeds by the water. It was SO MUCH FUN!

Brooks with his best friend Jones. I just can't handle the cuteness!

These two really are turning into such good buddies. It's so fun to see their relationship develop.

Colson finally pulled out a wiggly front tooth, the next one came out a few days later.

Sometimes you just have to forget about the dinner dishes and go outside and play in the rain!

 The kids were excited to get matching outfits in a package from my mom.

Vienna with her bestie, Sawyer!

In a house full of 5 boys, us girls gotta stick together! Love her so much!

May in pictures

I'm still trying to catch up here and get our recent(ish) family happenings recorded on the blog. So here are a few more pictures from the end of May.

Colson loves climbing trees - just like me when I was a kid. Actually, I still like climbing trees, I just don't do it as much anymore.

Brooks is at one of my favorite ages. His little personality is emerging more and more each day and it is so fun learning who he is. He is such a delight and brings so much joy and laughter to our lives (I'm giving him about another month before the tantrum-throwing starts - so I will just soak up this stage while it lasts). ** Haha, I just have to laugh because I posted this on FB a little over a month ago and we have TOTALLY entered the tantrum-throwing phase. Did I call that or what?!

Two peas in a pod

Oh this kid!

All 7 of us looking at the camera and mostly smiling

Some good friends of ours were back in Turkey for part of the summer and came to visit us for the weekend. We had such a special time together!

Brooks then and now :)

Black Sea or Bust - Day 7 and 8

It was finally time to head in the direction of home. On the way up North, we drove mostly along the coast, but on the way back we wanted to take a different route.

Beautiful river running in between the mountains

We had planned to drive about 3 hours and then camp in the Bolu mountains for the night, but the rain changed our plans. Instead we drove 7 hours in one day and cut our trip short by a day. 

Along the way we stopped in Safranbolu, a town famous for its Ottoman houses. I would have loved to walk through the town, but we opted for driving slowly through it because of the rain.

Safranbolu is so beautiful and it's amazing how its original appearance has been preserved all these years.

After passing through Safranbolu, we kept on trucking until we reached our destination for the night: Kütahya. The city is famous for its ceramics, so Joel was excited to check it out.

Since it was the last night of our trip, we splurged on a hotel with a (heated!) pool. And because it was Ramadan we got an amazing deal! We got the family suite, which was two connected rooms, a delicious dinner and yummy breakfast was included (for 7 people!!!) - and all of this for 150TL which is about $56! I love a good deal, so I was just a teensy bit excited about this :)

In our hotel room watching a movie before bed

On the last day we had about 3 hours of driving. Not everyone was so excited about returning home :)

Black Sea or Bust - Day 6

On Day 6 we drove 3 hours Northeast to Amasra, which was our final destination before heading for home. Again, I was just amazed at the beauty as we drove. I mean, do you see this?:

Just a forewarning, I will probably post way too many pictures :) Amasra was my favorite place! It is the most beautiful little Black Sea town, not overrun by summertime tourists, and we thoroughly enjoyed walking its cobblestone streets, exploring the ruins of a Roman castle and soaking in the gorgeous views from Boztepe Island.

We caught our first glimpse of Amasra from the hills above and I immediately fell in love with the town. Amasra is located on a peninsula with two islands close by and many people say it is the Black Sea's prettiest port, I couldn't agree more!

Brooks enjoying ayran (a salty yogurt drink that we have all grown to love). Give me a döner kebab and some ayran and it is perfection!

I love that I captured this sweet moment of Isaiah helping Brooks at the park!

Brothers and best friends!

Giant game of chess? Why not?!

My girl!

Passing through the archway of the Amasra castle

Ottoman era wooden houses

Sigh! I could just stay here forever!

Crossing the Kemere bridge that connects Boztepe Island to the mainland.

View of Tavşan Adası (Rabbit Island)

Yohanis wanted a picture in front of this house

Panoramic view of Amasra. Seriously, can I just live here?!

After we trekked all over Amasra (props to our kids for doing so much walking), we headed out to find our campsite. It was in the middle of NOWHERE and we had to call the owner several times before we actually found it. But we were glad we kept going, because it was absolutely perfect!

Swimming at our own private spot on the beach!

The campsite

Cute little cabins on the property