Right now we are out of Iraq for a couple for a couple of week. I finally have time to sit down and write a blog post or maybe two. So here goes:
-The other day Erin and I were going to pick some packages up and she noticed a monkey on a leash tied to a light pole One doesn’t see monkeys everyday tied to a light pole especially ones eating carrots!
- I have grown accustomed to visiting the bazaar (large primarily outside market where one can go to find almost anything you need. I typically take a taxi into the less crowded part of the bazaar and then walk out of it when I am ready to leave cause there is lots of traffic in the bazaar. As I was on my usual route walking out of the bazaar I noticed an old man sitting in a chair sleeping waiting for someone to hire him. Since then I have seen him sleeping in his chair in the morning, at lunch time and in the afternoon. Personally I think it is bad business because I wouldn’t wake someone from sleeping I would simply move onto the next person. But then someone who thinks differently than myself might think I will hire the sleeping man he should be well rested. Any thoughts?
- A month or so ago every time I sat down to type something I kept hitting the comma key and it really annoyed me so I am happy to say that since I started typing this post I have not hit the comma key once on accident.
- Being here in Turkey has been great. I have had some amazing chicken (something I don’t eat much of in Iraq). And I had a McFlurry and a chocolate dipped ice cream cone. I really miss great ice cream. We are staying in a friends house that is located pretty stinking close to the water so it has been great to hear and smell the water. It reminds me of home and then I get to thinking that I’m going fishing in about a month with my dad and Allen. Having lived in Corpus most of my life I am accustomed to seeing seagulls, some that are big and other that are small but the seagulls in Turkey are extra large. I took a picture of one cause I figured people wouldn’t believe me.
- Back to Iraq. I with the help of a couple of our interns finished painting the upstairs of our house. That is a huge relief!
- We also bought new curtains that are thicker, heavier, and darker for our living room so now that room is a little cooler and much more tolerable. I am still going to get a larger split (a/c) someday, hopefully!
- Thanks to one of our interns, Josh, I have started to get into photography. Part of the benefit to living overseas is that you get the opportunity to see amazingly beautiful places. Now I am just trying to learn how to take a little bit better pictures.
- Hopefully I will take some great ones in Thailand and you will get to see them.
That’s about all I have for this post. I hope you leave comments cause that is my favorite part about blogging, getting to read comments people left.
8.22.2009
back in Iraq
Just a note to say that we made it safely back to the country! I will try and post some more pictures of our time in Bangkok this week. It was quite a trek to get back here and in the future I will try to not travel internationally in my third trimester, but in just 3 weeks and 4 plane rides we will finally be home!
We returned just in time for Ramadan so that will be interesting, we've never been in a Muslim country during this time of fasting. It already seems so different. None of the restaurants are open during the daylight hours and lots of shops are closed for the 30 days of fasting. I'm glad we get to be here to experience a little of it and will hopefully get to break the fast with some of our friends and neighbors before we leave.
I was awake extra early this morning, half jet lag, half our electricity going off and as I was grumbling over the heat and lack of electricity I was reminded of something important that came out of our time at the conference....be thankful! The last 7 months in Iraq have been varying degrees of hard and harder and I let myself get so bogged down in it that I forgot to be thankful for anything! So, I spent time this morning being thankful that I had extra time to pray and read and remember the things God has done for us.
We returned just in time for Ramadan so that will be interesting, we've never been in a Muslim country during this time of fasting. It already seems so different. None of the restaurants are open during the daylight hours and lots of shops are closed for the 30 days of fasting. I'm glad we get to be here to experience a little of it and will hopefully get to break the fast with some of our friends and neighbors before we leave.
I was awake extra early this morning, half jet lag, half our electricity going off and as I was grumbling over the heat and lack of electricity I was reminded of something important that came out of our time at the conference....be thankful! The last 7 months in Iraq have been varying degrees of hard and harder and I let myself get so bogged down in it that I forgot to be thankful for anything! So, I spent time this morning being thankful that I had extra time to pray and read and remember the things God has done for us.
8.13.2009
Picture attempt 2
We'll see if the internet will be a little more cooperative tonight so we can show you some more pictures of our time here so far.
Here's Jeff in his hardcore ATV gear. He was the only one who went on the tour this day and since he had some experience the guide really took him off the beaten path. He had a great time!
Would you let this man take you up a mountain by yourself? I'm not so sure I would...
This is Jeff outside a temple that was on the side of the mountain
This is my elephant hug... it was a baby elephant.... it seemed harmless at first... until this...
He started putting me in a headlock and pulling me into his mouth...it was kind of gross.
Jeff's elephant kept trying to push him over so that the kids who were feeding the elephants could get closer.
Isn't this amazing?! This elephant is painting a picture of a panda bear! I gotta say, these elephants have some mad painting skills, I was totally impressed.
We went to an orchid and butterfly farm. The flowers were SO beautiful!
Enjoying the local public transportation. I can't get used to the cars driving on the other side of the road!
We went on a dinner cruise last night on the river. It was really nice and the food was great!
We have another day left of our conference and then we will head to Bangkok for a few days. We've had a really good time - I think we both just needed a chance to get out of Iraq and breathe for a while. It has also been pretty fabulous having pizza hut and eating bacon every morning for breakfast! I'll try and post some more pictures from the end of our trip before we head back to Iraq. In one month we'll be back in the states! I can't believe it! We are both looking forward to seeing everyone and having some time with our families.
Here's Jeff in his hardcore ATV gear. He was the only one who went on the tour this day and since he had some experience the guide really took him off the beaten path. He had a great time!
Would you let this man take you up a mountain by yourself? I'm not so sure I would...
This is Jeff outside a temple that was on the side of the mountain
This is my elephant hug... it was a baby elephant.... it seemed harmless at first... until this...
He started putting me in a headlock and pulling me into his mouth...it was kind of gross.
Jeff's elephant kept trying to push him over so that the kids who were feeding the elephants could get closer.
Isn't this amazing?! This elephant is painting a picture of a panda bear! I gotta say, these elephants have some mad painting skills, I was totally impressed.
We went to an orchid and butterfly farm. The flowers were SO beautiful!
Enjoying the local public transportation. I can't get used to the cars driving on the other side of the road!
We went on a dinner cruise last night on the river. It was really nice and the food was great!
We have another day left of our conference and then we will head to Bangkok for a few days. We've had a really good time - I think we both just needed a chance to get out of Iraq and breathe for a while. It has also been pretty fabulous having pizza hut and eating bacon every morning for breakfast! I'll try and post some more pictures from the end of our trip before we head back to Iraq. In one month we'll be back in the states! I can't believe it! We are both looking forward to seeing everyone and having some time with our families.
8.12.2009
Adventures in Thailand
We've been having a great time so far! Thought I'd post some pictures of what we've been up to.
This is from Jeff's trip up the side of a mountain on a 4 wheeler
Today we went to an elephant camp and saw a show and got to ride an elephant.
The elephants even played soccer!
Here we are on our elephant ride!
Unfortunately, the internet is not cooperating with me right now so I can't post any more pictures! But, I'll try again soon....there's some great ones of me getting put in a headlock by an elephant and Jeff looking really hardcore in his ATV gear.
This is from Jeff's trip up the side of a mountain on a 4 wheeler
Today we went to an elephant camp and saw a show and got to ride an elephant.
The elephants even played soccer!
Here we are on our elephant ride!
Unfortunately, the internet is not cooperating with me right now so I can't post any more pictures! But, I'll try again soon....there's some great ones of me getting put in a headlock by an elephant and Jeff looking really hardcore in his ATV gear.
8.10.2009
we're here!
Since we can't use our phones anymore just wanted to let everyone know we made it safely to Thailand. We are enjoying our time here so far and are looking forward to the rest of the week.
Unfortunately, I don't have my camera on me to post any pictures because Jeff has it and is 4-wheeling through the jungle right now. But we'll post pictures soon.
I got to see the doctor here (tidbit for you Dad) and so I'm taking antibiotics and hope to kick the 3 infections I have right now very soon! I'm feeling better already, so that is a good sign.
There is even more American food here than in Istanbul! I'm a little bit excited about it all. Yesterday I ate donuts, and Auntie Anne's pretzels, and then I had my second dinner at Subway and drank root beer! It was so fabulous. I have actually been dreaming about Subway and root beer for maybe the last 3 months - it was even better than I dreamed.
I'm going to Starbucks in a few minutes with some friends and plan to enjoy every sip! We have also been eating Thai food too, but right now nothing compares to good ol' American food. We are going to ride elephants in a couple days and we are going on a dinner cruise. I'm pretty excited. It has been a breath of fresh air and it has been really refreshing to gather with so many people from around the globe who are serving the Lord. It has been kind of overwhelming to worship with hundreds of people again, but it has been so renewing! Well, gotta go, don't want to be late for my Starbucks date!
Unfortunately, I don't have my camera on me to post any pictures because Jeff has it and is 4-wheeling through the jungle right now. But we'll post pictures soon.
I got to see the doctor here (tidbit for you Dad) and so I'm taking antibiotics and hope to kick the 3 infections I have right now very soon! I'm feeling better already, so that is a good sign.
There is even more American food here than in Istanbul! I'm a little bit excited about it all. Yesterday I ate donuts, and Auntie Anne's pretzels, and then I had my second dinner at Subway and drank root beer! It was so fabulous. I have actually been dreaming about Subway and root beer for maybe the last 3 months - it was even better than I dreamed.
I'm going to Starbucks in a few minutes with some friends and plan to enjoy every sip! We have also been eating Thai food too, but right now nothing compares to good ol' American food. We are going to ride elephants in a couple days and we are going on a dinner cruise. I'm pretty excited. It has been a breath of fresh air and it has been really refreshing to gather with so many people from around the globe who are serving the Lord. It has been kind of overwhelming to worship with hundreds of people again, but it has been so renewing! Well, gotta go, don't want to be late for my Starbucks date!
8.06.2009
Time in Turkey
We've had a really good time in Turkey so far, we've also had some unexpected time here, but more on that later.
We got to Istanbul on Tuesday and ate some delicious Burger King before we even left the airport. It was some kind of wonderful.
Haydn and I got to enjoy Burger King twice! We were supposed to fly to Bangkok last night but the airline canceled our tickets without notifying us so we were at the airport until 1 AM trying to get that sorted out. Now we are flying to Bangkok tonight instead. Kind of a bummer, but today has been relaxing and I did get some more BK.
On Wednesday we got to go to the hospital to see some of our kids who are still there after heart surgery. We got to go to cardiac ICU and see baby Daryan. They are hoping to be able to extubate soon but he is still in pretty critical condition, please keep praying. Here's Jeff next to the model of the hospital, I couldn't believe how nice this hospital was!
We had a great time taking Daryan's mom out for lunch and then for some time in the city away from the hospital. It was also pretty wonderful getting to go to McDonald's twice and get some ice cream! I'm not one to usually take pictures of my food...but I was just so excited to eat some American food. We even got some Starbucks last night while we waited at the airport.
Here are some pics of us from the roof of the house we were staying at. I almost forgot how beautiful Turkey is, we've really enjoyed our time here.
We had a good time on the roof playing with Emma & Micah.
And this is Jeff's new traveling shirt. One of his good friends bought this for him right before we left Iraq because he said that Jeff needed a new shirt for his trip. Isn't it something? =)
We've had a great time in Istanbul but are ready to move on to phase 2 of our trip. Inshallah, we will get on a plane tonight and then arrive at our final destination in Thailand tomorrow night just in time for all of the big events to kick off for the week. Please be praying for our health. Jeff is at the pharmacy right now trying to find some cold medicine for us. I just got rid of a parasite last week, then got an infection from the antibiotics, and now it seems we are both getting colds. I'm really ready to feel better - especially on vacation!
We got to Istanbul on Tuesday and ate some delicious Burger King before we even left the airport. It was some kind of wonderful.
Haydn and I got to enjoy Burger King twice! We were supposed to fly to Bangkok last night but the airline canceled our tickets without notifying us so we were at the airport until 1 AM trying to get that sorted out. Now we are flying to Bangkok tonight instead. Kind of a bummer, but today has been relaxing and I did get some more BK.
On Wednesday we got to go to the hospital to see some of our kids who are still there after heart surgery. We got to go to cardiac ICU and see baby Daryan. They are hoping to be able to extubate soon but he is still in pretty critical condition, please keep praying. Here's Jeff next to the model of the hospital, I couldn't believe how nice this hospital was!
We had a great time taking Daryan's mom out for lunch and then for some time in the city away from the hospital. It was also pretty wonderful getting to go to McDonald's twice and get some ice cream! I'm not one to usually take pictures of my food...but I was just so excited to eat some American food. We even got some Starbucks last night while we waited at the airport.
Here are some pics of us from the roof of the house we were staying at. I almost forgot how beautiful Turkey is, we've really enjoyed our time here.
We had a good time on the roof playing with Emma & Micah.
And this is Jeff's new traveling shirt. One of his good friends bought this for him right before we left Iraq because he said that Jeff needed a new shirt for his trip. Isn't it something? =)
We've had a great time in Istanbul but are ready to move on to phase 2 of our trip. Inshallah, we will get on a plane tonight and then arrive at our final destination in Thailand tomorrow night just in time for all of the big events to kick off for the week. Please be praying for our health. Jeff is at the pharmacy right now trying to find some cold medicine for us. I just got rid of a parasite last week, then got an infection from the antibiotics, and now it seems we are both getting colds. I'm really ready to feel better - especially on vacation!
Paintings for Haydn
couple weeks. Here is the finished product. His room will be done in
primary colors. Hopefully when we get back to Iraq we'll be able to
get the nursery more set up!
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