Georgia

At the end of May we traveled to the neighboring country of Georgia to meet with some friends from all over. It was such a refreshing and encouraging week, with much of our time being spent in corporate worship and prayer. So, so good!

Leaving our house early in the morning.

It was quite a tiring day of traveling. From our house we walked to the bus stop, then it was a 25 minute bus ride to the metro, then an hour metro ride to the airport. From there we caught a 1.5 hour flight to Trabzon, in northeast Turkey. And finally it was a 4 hour bus ride to Georgia, which included a border crossing where we had to get out of the bus with all of our kids and luggage and wait in the passport control line and then walk about a quarter mile after passing through the border to find our bus waiting on the other side. And did I mention we did this with 5 kids and all of our luggage?!?! Whew!

Sweet, tired boys!

Happy to be in Georgia!

I love these two besties!

My Isaiah Jace!

Sunset on the Black Sea!

Our kids loved the rocky beach. The had fun throwing rocks in the water and collecting sea glass!

Catching up with some friends we haven't seen in 9 years!

And we loved getting to know this sweet couple better!

Can you see the huge TREE they were transporting on the sea?!

Us girls dressed up all fancy!

Also, I just realized I don't have any pictures of Yohanis and Colson. That is because I pretty much didn't seem them the entire week as they were too busy having fun with friends they don't get to see very often!

We spotted dolphins in the Black Sea one afternoon.

Special friends from our hometown!

Love him!

May 2017 in pictures

Snapped this picture from the metro station one morning. Just some horses leisurely strolling through the city.

Probably the most exciting event this month was the birth of 5 baby bunnies! Our kids were over the moon excited, especially Vienna.

Collecting dut (mulberries) from some trees near our house. Our kids look forward to this every May. Last year we made mulberry pie, this year we made yogurt and mulberry popsicles (which weren't as yummy as we thought they'd be).

Enjoying a Sunday at the beach with our neighbors. We grilled chicken and went fishing (only Yohanis and Colson actually caught something though).

Crazy how fast the bunnies grew! Once they had some fur and looked less like tiny pigs, we all LOVED snuggling with them. 

I enjoyed 3 days away at a women's retreat with some of my dear friends. It was in the most beautiful setting in the mountains in Northwestern Turkey and it was just what my soul needed!

Wood-fired pizza, stilts and campfires! What a perfect evening!

And Joel certainly had fun with the kids while I was away! He's such a good daddy!

Parenting tip: carry around a baby bunny in your shirt pocket all day. It's hard to yell or be a grumpy mommy when you have a bunny asleep in your pocket.

Seriously though, we can't get anything done around here! These little bunnies are just too cute.

It was so much fun surprising Joel with an early birthday party the weekend before his birthday. We went on a double date with some friends on Saturday evening and when we got back to the house, everyone was gathered in our front yard cheering and singing happy birthday. What a sight it was - Joel was so confused at first. Haha. As we pulled up to the house, about 20 kids came running out to give Joel a big hug! It was SO special! Joel was totally surprised!

We went on a double date with Brock and Meg, but time with these guys is so precious and fun that we just decided to keep their family through the rest of the weekend. 😂 I'm so glad they are always up for big, loud, crazy family sleepovers! So incredibly thankful for friendships like this where we do life together!

At the end-of-the-school-year class breakfasts with my kiddos! I am very thankful for each of their teachers and how much they love and care about their students. They have such big hearts and are some of my heroes!

This guy! 😍On May 26th he turned 32 years old! Can I just brag on him for a minute?

Joel is, without a doubt, one of the most hard-working, kind, patient, humble, servant-hearted, creative and passionate people I've ever met. He is an amazing dad to our 5 kids and as we've entered into the preteen stage I've seen him absolutely thrive in parenting. He is SUCH a fun dad, always ready to get outside and play a game with the kids or get his hands dirty teaching them more about woodworking. He loves working alongside of them, teaching them what he knows and seeing their excitement when they get it. He doesn't just love our kids, but truly enjoys them as well. He spends lots of time answering their many questions, reading the Bible, praying with them and shepherding their hearts. He leads our family so well and is fully confident in who God has called him to be.

And he's not just an awesome dad but an amazing husband as well. He balances me so well. He pursues my heart and challenges me in my relationship with the Lord. He makes me laugh every day and is always up for my crazy ideas. He is quick to want to make up after a fight even when I'd rather just stay mad for awhile 😋 And he is a great example to me of what a life lived in pursuit of Jesus looks like.

I'm SO thankful to say that I'm married to my best friend. And that even after almost 12 years of marriage we are still best friends. Happy birthday, babe! I love you!

Hiking to Keçi Kale

Every time we're driving on the highway and we pass by the mountain with the castle on top, I always tell Joel I want to hike to it. Well, one Saturday in May, we finally did it! It took about an hour and 20 minutes to get to the top, but the castle ruins and the amazing view was so worth it! And the kids did a great job - it was such a fun family day!

At the start of the trail. See the teeny tiny castle on top?

Brooks even did really great hiking - for the first 10 minutes. Haha!

Getting steeper!

About halfway there.

Almost there - it finally doesn't look so teeny tiny anymore!

WOW! Just beautiful!

 What a view!

Family selfie in the castle!

I tried to find out more of the history of the castle, but I couldn't find a whole lot of info other than that it dates back to the Hellenistic period. It's called Keçi Kalesi, which means goat castle and there is a legend that "an attacking army was brutally outnumbered and waited until nightfall to attack. They took thousands of goats, mounted candles to their heads and led them up the mountain. The castle guards, seeing the "massive army" storming up the mountain, decided to surrender without bloodshed to the massive offensive of goats.”

I love getting outside and exploring with my family, seeing new places and learning new things! It's not always easy with little ones who quickly get tired and start to complain. But the more we do it, the easier it will get - my goal is to be more active as a family this summer!