Happy Birthday Eden

We had a great birthday party for Eden at the park.  I can't believe she is three.  She had plenty of helpers to assist her with her new scooter.

Life Pics

Merry Christmas!

Wii Just Dance Party with our seventy-something neighbor. She killed it, but was out of breath in about 20 seconds.

Laura's lovely Christmas tea service.

Amazing princess cake for Selah's 5th b-day. Laura is talented.

Balcony Picnic

We were all geared up for a picnic in the park when the rains came. Plan B on the balcony worked out well. Also for your enjoyment are some dress-up/dancing pics. Selah says she dressed up like a soldier.

Bed Shuffle

Change is afoot. Jillian graduated from the pack and play in our room to the crib in her own room. Eden went from the crib to the toddler bed and Selah went from the toddler bed to the single bed. Everything went great the first night except for those two times when Eden fell out of the bed. Jillian didn't sleep there. She just wanted to pose for the picture.

Goldfish!

It's a big day at our house. As a reward for sleeping 5 consecutive nights in the same room as Eden (without incident), Selah picked out a large goldfish at the pet store. At some point, we must have told her that fish can be a little fragile and even die. Selah has been very concerned. On the ride home from the pet store, she made us hold up the bag every few minutes to check on the fish. Here are some quotes from the last 30 minutes.

"If you stop looking at it, she will die."

"Uh-oh, she's not breathing! Oh, she's OK."

Through tears, "Oh no, the bag fell over!"

"Why is she just sitting there?"

The guy at the pet store told me the little turtles will live longer. I offered that alternative to Selah, but she said the turtles looked angry.

So here, we are. New pet owners. Her name is Sarah, by the way. We hope that she will be with us a long time, but it sounds like we are all prepared for her eventual demise--maybe too prepared.

Selah & Eden Playing

Eden is old enough now that she really enjoys playing with her big sister. When Selah is gone, Eden notices and asks where she is. A friend tells me that she noticed when our babysitter takes the girls to the park, Eden plays more and seems happier when Selah is with her.

Of course, they fight and hit during the course of their play and we're working on teaching both of them how to treat people, especially loved ones. Eden seems to love the concept of time out and will give herself one if she is reprimanded for her behavior. Things she likes to do: hit in the face, pull hair, or push. Selah has perfected the art of swiping a toy and running, or holding her things high in the air when Eden is present--to keep Eden from touching them.

Ryan and I are new to the world of teaching our children how to get along, though we both had 2 siblings growing up--so we should know something from experience, right? One thing I'm trying to do is teach the girls to talk to one another about their issues before getting Ryan or me involved. You know kids, one takes the toy and the "wronged" kid whines to mom. It seems to me that these are good opportunities to teach the girls how Jesus taught us to deal with conflict. They should talk to one another first before bringing the adult on the scene. I know they're young, but Selah definitely grasps the concept. I don't know if it is effective, but something I'm trying. If any of you very wise and experienced friends have any great tips for me, I'd love to hear!

Eden Footage

Two videos of Eden. She's 21 months old and talking all the time. When she wakes up, her first words are, "Selah woke up?" Every night she looks at pictures in her room and says goodnight to the people in the pictures. The first video was taken after Selah finished with the cheerleader costume. Eden put it on and did the same thing she saw Selah doing, minus the jumping around. She's saying, "Go (H)Aggies!" Of course, you'll also catch a glimpse of Selah's performance...which are never ending in our house! In the second video, Selah was helping Eden practice her words. Notice how Eden says what Selah asks her to say but not what her mom asks.

2 1/2 Weeks

This is the new retro-fitted computer cabinet I told you about last week. I still like it--a lot.

This is how Eden plays with markers: coloring her face, lips, legs, arms, etc. The markers are under lock now, but she still manages to get her hands on them.

From the beginning of the first child becoming ill to the (hopeful) end of the 2nd parent--and everyone in between--we've been sick for over 2 weeks. On day 10 of being sick I finally went to the doctor and learned something new-but not about viruses or colds.

I learned that I assumed primary physician-type care functioned the same way here as it does in the States. When I was pregnant with Selah, my OB told me that she would be my primary physician during the pregnancy. So, when I decided to go to the doctor on Friday, I made an appointment with my OB. She gave me a slightly confused look when I explained my symptoms to her and told me, politely, that I should make an appointment with an ENT. So, 30 minutes and 1 "just for fun" ultrasound later, I was in with the ENT in the neighboring building of the hospital. After the appointment, I put the dots together and realized that I am almost certain that we don't see general physicians for anything here. We always go to the specialist. The great thing is, I don't need any kind of referral to do that. Different countries, different practices...most likely because insurance companies work differently here. The diagnosis: sinusitis. Hopefully we'll all feel 100% soon.

Ryan and Selah had a date night on Thursday. Both of us got excited about dressing her up for the show. They saw Aladdin on Ice. They left 1 hour early and arrived 30 minutes late due to horrific traffic. Selah fell asleep during that long drive and Ryan carried her into the ice rink. He said he wasn't sure she ever fully woke up, but did seem interested in the show. She slept all the way home.

She chose to have two french braids and her Indonesian dress and church shoes.

Sick on the couch

She looks TOO grown up in this shot...but oh so beautiful, just like a "princess"

Today, we went to the park as a family for little while and enjoyed the sun and fresh air. We stopped at the picnic tables to enjoy some spinach or ground beef or feta cheese filled pastry. The girls love the spinach filled ones.

After returning to our apartment building, Selah and I posed for a 25 (ish) week prego shot.

Back home

Selah posing with the fake flowers we just bought from Ikea

We've been back in our apartment for 15 days now. It is good to be back.

After returning, the first order of business was cleaning the house from top to bottom. It took me 9 days. Of course it wasn't 9 full days of cleaning. There were very important other things that needed to be done throughout that time, like go to the park every morning, have dinner with friends, go to the store (several times), and change our t.v. cabinet into a computer nook.

Ryan worked hard for almost a week on this project. I'm so pleased with the result. No more seen computer in our living room. The printer is hidden away in the cabinet too! Ryan also installed some great speakers to enhance our music listening and movie watching experiences.

I still want to get some new curtains made for the current guest, soon-to-be baby room. Enough projects for now...back to telling you about the most disgusting cleaning job...

We have these shutter-type things that we closed over all of our windows while we were gone. We left one cracked because there were pretty flowers growing in a planter on the outside of the window sill. One very naughty pigeon made this a warm nest for himself and others. So, the entire length of the window sill was caked with poo and the windows were smeared with it. Yuck!! Ryan, while wearing a mask, spent over an hour cleaning up that mess. What a man!

Selah is at school today, for the second half-day this week. She couldn't wait to get back. She squealed with delight when Zeynep, our good friend and babysitter came last week. She is now remembering more of the language each day. Today she commented that she only knew how to say "yes" when we came back, but now she remembers more words every day! Yippee!

Eden has started eating more than I've ever seen her eat. I'm wondering if she feels back at home, even though she was only 14 months old when we left. I didn't think she'd really notice, but maybe she does. She is doing so well.

Eden trying to find the scent of the fake flower.

I am enjoying eating the food I've missed for several months. Last night I made a vegetable dish that is basically a bunch of vegetables cooked in olive oil for a while and it hit the spot! You really should try it! I added some fresh green beans to the mix as well.

Here's the link to the recipe:
http://www.turkishfoodandrecipes.com/2009/09/mixed-vegetables-with-olive-oil.html

Heading Home

Our 6 months has come to a past-paced end as we've done as much stuffing as humanly possible. We've stuff our stomachs ( I think I win the prize for stuffing the most), good-bye's, and our bags. As I think about walking into the airport tomorrow, stress starts to overwhelm me. The stress isn't rooted in an anxiety to return to our home or fly a total of about 17 hours with a 4 year-old and 19 month-old while 21 weeks pregnant. No, the stress comes from thinking about how much stuff we are flying back across the ocean with us. We will ask a nice porter to load our 5 50-pound trunks, 3 50-pound suitcases, 3 carry-ons, 3 back packs, 2 car seats and strollers onto a cart and head to the check-in counter. I know I shouldn't let something like this stress me out. But I do. Sometimes, we have a nice assistant that will check our carry-ons for us at no charge, sometimes we don't. Inthe case that we don't, imagine us waiting in security lines, going through security, wondering the airport and boarding the plane with 1 car seat, 1 stroller, 3 carry-ons, 3 backpacks and 2 kids.

But....once we're on the plane, we're home free (till we change planes, at least). We are all very excited about going home, though it isn't without stings of pain. Oh how we've enjoyed the time with family...the pressure-free time with family. We've relished in the meaningful conversations, the encouragement and fun we've been blessed with over the past 6 months. We're going to miss the great state of Texas and maybe even the wind in Amarillo. My favorite part about being home was the time with family. I am so happy that many relationships were strengthened as a result of our time in the states.

As we go back to the land where God has put us, we go anticipating what is going to happen in the next three years. One big hope is that my language will continue to deepen and that I'll be able to make some close friends. I also pray that God will work on my heart so that instead of being high-strung and testy, I will be able to enjoy the next year as we await the arrival of our third child and adjust to being a family of 5.

We'll post something after the post-flight recovery is in full swing.