Family Pictures 2016

Our sweet friends took some family pictures for us in December. I wasn't sure if we got any good ones, because let's face it, getting Isaiah and Brooks to stand still and smile is pretty much impossible. Then Yohanis, Colson and Vienna jump in to help and instead of looking at the camera and smiling, they are looking at their siblings and trying to get them to smile. ANYWAY, I was pleasantly surprised with how our family pictures turned out. I am SUCH a picture person. I love taking pictures, making photo books and hanging pictures all over the house. So I'm glad we got a few good ones to get up on the walls!

Olive trees are my ABSOLUTE favorite!

Christmas & New Years 2016

Opening Christmas presents from Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop.

Christmas Eve crazies!

Cousin love!

Beautiful mama with her sweet babe!

Kids table at Christmas Eve brunch.

Adults table.

The kids performed a play for us of the Christmas Story and then we sang some Christmas carols together.

Getting my baby Benji fix

The kids exchanged names and had fun opening presents from each other.

Don't know what I'd do without these two ladies in my life!

Christmas morning! I wish I had a picture of when everyone woke up and crawled into bed with us. All 7 of us snuggled up together in our bed and read the story of the birth of Jesus before we went downstairs. It was so special.

Christmas morning pomegranate pancakes. A Joel specialty!

Taking a family walk and playing at the park together after breakfast.

On the walk home we stopped in to visit one of our favorite families and wish them a merry Christmas!

Skyping with Joel's family after we got back from church later that afternoon.

MERRY CHRISTMAS from the Hildebrands!

On New Years day we took the kids to see the snow on the mountains. We ate cake and drank hot chocolate and had snowball fights. It was so much fun until all our fingers and toes were numb.
 

New Years Eve double date tradition with Brock and Meg lives on!!

December in Pictures

Enjoying some time away with great friends!

These besties getting spoiled with their very own çay when we went to visit a neighbor.

Hanging out with sweet baby Elvira one morning made my day. I LOVE rocking babies to sleep and I almost didn't let her mommy have her back!

Friday night means homemade pizza and a family movie all snuggled up together in our jammies!

Fancy coffee made for me by Yohanis. And the best place to drink it is by the fire, of course!

Saturday morning walk. I love where we live!

Every time there is a bake sale at school I am asked to make my chocolate chip cookies. Not to brag or anything, but they have become somewhat famous ;) My sister decided to host a cookie baking afternoon at her house for any of the teachers from school that wanted to learn how to bake cookies. It was a blast! The top right is Brooks mixing up cookie dough with the principal - he completely fell in love with her and now calls her HIS teacher. It was such a fun afternoon! Pictured below is Vienna with her teacher.

Some of our sweet Syrian friends. We love these families so much!

First chestnuts of the season, with good friends, on a cold winter's night!

Isaiah got to try ice skating at a friend's birthday party. He was getting the hang of it till the end.

Buying coats for our refugee friends to keep warm this winter. We've had an extremely cold winter so far this year!

Sunday morning church with the fam.

Vienna's bunnies are soon getting to big to carry around like this!

I just love the village the kids go to school in. One morning I took the long way home after dropping the kids off to marvel at the beauty that is all around us. Sometimes I still can't believe where we get to live and I feel so thankful for this life the Lord has called us to!

Celebrating Brooks 3rd birthday! Words cannot even express just how thankful I am for my sweet Brooks! It's hard to believe that 3 years ago on this day I was getting ready to have him. At home. Without our midwife. No one other than Joel and my sister to deliver him. It was the most incredible experience of my life and I get all teary-eyed remembering just how God provided exactly what we needed and what a miracle my Brooks is! 

Happy Birthday Brooks! You make us laugh every day and you bring so much joy to not only us but to everyone who is lucky enough to know you! We love you so crazy much!
 

Time to renew some passports and I couldn't help but laugh at my collection of passport photos. #expatlife

Passport appointments for these two kids meant no school and a fun morning spent in the city!

Sweet little Rece receiving a pair of shoes. I think it's safe to say she was happy with her new pink shoes!

Love my afternoons with these beautiful people! Not much language is shared, but they are slowly picking up some Turkish and I am (ever so) slowly picking up a few Arabic words.

These boys were oh so excited to go with their daddy to see their favorite soccer team play: FENERBAHCE!!

A lovely evening with some sweet neighbors. They went all out and cooked up a FEAST for us. Seriously, we felt so spoiled! We are a lot of people to cook for and it's not every day we get invited somewhere for dinner, so we always feel so special when we do!

Turkish breakfast for dinner!

The week before Christmas the dreaded stomach bug passed through our family. No fun, but luckily it was just a 24 hour thing!

Shopping with Brooks. He made himself quite at home in the shopping cart :)

Guest bathroom demo has begun. Good thing for Joel that he's got lots of willing helpers!