Symetrical

This is what a play picnic with Sonora looks like:  neat and symetrical!  Every Wednesday Sonora is home from school while the ESL students in her Kindergarten class get a day of extra English focus.  I've come to enjoy Wednesdays with her where we sometimes meet with another family for a play date, stay at home and work on projects, or go to visit her downstairs neighbor friend.  She seems to think it's her special day to play.  We usually have a good time together. 

Sonora is my social girl, my little helper, my creative thinker and go-getter.  In her play set-up always takes as long as the game itself.  I wish you could've seen her set up this picnic, the way she would put something in place, tilt her head to the side in desicion, adjust it a little and then step back to see if it was perfection.  It is very interesting to watch kids.  Each child has his or her own way. 

Year in Pictures- Week 1

Jan.1- Last day before taking down Christmas decorations.

Jan. 2- My dish cubboard.

Jan. 3-  Setting out the trash before the garbage truck comes.

Jan. 4- Sonora's day home.  We got a package!

Jan. 5-  View outside my kitchen window.

Jan. 6-  Friday night is pizza night.

Jan. 7-  Reading to my two feverish kids.

Welcome 2012!!!!

Well, it's a new year and will be a year filled with lots of "lasts" and lots of new "firsts" for us as a family.  We have some big changes coming up.  I have had the thought of trying to take a picture every day this year.  I don't know if I will be able to do it, and loading them up daily is already out of the question, but maybe every month I can put up a collage of the month's pictures.  This is not a resolution, just an idea that came to me that I'd like to do and am willing to try.  We'll see how long it lasts.  In case you are wondering, I still have to take one for today.  I have 1 1/2 hours left.  Very telling of how well I plan things.

Well, I brought in the New Year across the hall at my neighbor's home.  Aaron had such bad allergies he was in bed with the kids by 10:00pm.  So I went back over to their house and my friend and I chatted until it was midnight.  It literally went that fast.  We ran out to their terrace and stood there in the sprinkling rain to watch the fireworks go off around the city.  Then we went downstairs to wish her husband a New Year and they called their families.  We all watched the news a little then I bade them both goodnight and walked out their door, took four steps to mine, and was home.  I will sorely miss this across the hall neighbor thing.  It is convenient in many ways.  Our kids are  always running across from their house to ours, running back to get a toy, etc.  We are so close yet I always have to lock up and have my keys on hand.  That's city life for you.

Happy New Years!

Our Christmas

This Christmas was full for us.  Full of many good things, and mainly full of the love of God.  We had a few surprises, like Sonora hitting her head and needing stiches and Malachi being sick Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but in the end we were thankful our situation wasn't worse.  We were sad to miss our church's Christmas Eve program, but we were happy to all be together.  It was a rather rainy day (a little weather detail for me to rememeber).  

Christmas morning, the kids got up to check in their stockings. After breakfast and a little rest we packed up and headed to our friend's home for Christmas dinner.  Malachi didn't get to enjoy the meal, but finally kept down some potatoes and in the late evening had enough energy to play with his friends.  The good food, great company and the sound of a full house made for a great day.  And in the evening we were able to talk to nearly all of our family.    I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas as well.  

I thought I'd share with you the fullness of this season.  It was full of . . . 

. . . waiting and reflecting on the gift of Christ

. . . sweets and baking

. . . decorating

. . . gift making

. . . special sweet moments

. . . pets to care for (two birds, one turtle and five fish)

. . . lots of pictures with Sonora wearing this bandage

. . . sweet gifts from sister to brother

. . . keeping surprises

. . . sickness and rest

. . . smiles and delight

. . . wonderful friends

. . . fun and games

. . . humor and laughter

. . . tradition (thanks Becky for always making this little treat happen)

. . . and for this little girl, it's been a season full of lots of sugar!

Hard at Work

Everyone was quiet and working hard!

A Season of Waiting

I've been thinking about how Christmas and Easter are both holidays that build up.  They are a season, not just a one day holiday.  And I've been reflecting a lot on the birth of Christ, reading the prophecies  fortelling his coming and I get this sense of waiting. . . of expectancy.  And then someone shared in church about how at Christmas we talk a lot about Jesus's coming as if we were waiting for his first coming too, when in reality he has come and now we are waiting for his return.  I thought about that and realized how Christmas is a bit of an excercise of remembering, treasuring and hoping all in one.  We remember how the Israelites were waiting and
expecting a savior and we remember our lives as well before we received the gift of Christ personally.  The remembering of the goodness of God to follow through with his promises brings us to treasure His wonderful goodness, namely His goodness in Christ Jesus, saving us from our sin.  And the treasuring of His goodness in my hearts springs such a hope in me for all the situations in my life that can feel hopeless.

So, as we sing Christmas carols around the tree, or read from the Gospels the coming of Jesus with the angels and shepherds and wise men, or we help the kids prepare a gift for someone special with anticipation of the receiver's joy, I am reminded of the fullness of the gift of Christ.  These traditions (singing, nativity sets, reading the story) are full of meaning but only if you take the
time to really ponder it.  There is much more relection needed at
Christmas than we tend to give ourselves to.  And I realize the very traditions that were meant to help us reflect can actually stand in the way if they are merely keeping us busy.

There is nothing like small children and the job of raising them to make you have to answer the questions of why you do the things you do.  Why the tree?  Why gifts?  There is a lot of meaning in all these little things we do and as the kids have started asking it's been good for me to put it into words and ponder anew their meaning.
I'll take gift giving for example.  The wisemen gave gifts.  I for a long time thought of the tradition as coming from that.  And it may have.  I suppose there are different opinions as to the origion of the traditon.  We've been talking about Jesus as the greatest gift, and reflecting on the giving and recieving relationship, and the joy of both giving and receiving.  Kids have a way of bringing back meanings to things you've done so long you can almost lose the meaning.  Also, living in a country where Christmas is not celebrated  has made me conscious of the meanings behind our tradtions.  I never used to put so much thought into why we do the things we do at Christmas and Easter until I came to Turkey, at least not in this way.

As this will be our last Christmas here, I'm writing this mainly for
myself.  It isn't a profound reflection but a personal one.  I want to remember the beauty of our Christmas's here.  They have become very meaningful and a real season of renewing for me.  Next Christmas will be so special in that we'll be with our families again, and I hope as purposeful in meaning as our Christmas's have been here.

Christmas Show

This week Malachi and Sonora had their school Christmas program.  Sonora's class sang and danced along with the first graders to several songs in different languages.  One was in Spanish and one was Latin I think.  I love this picture above showing her class singing "O Come All Ye Faithful".  They did a great job and Sonora was all smiles and giggles on stage.

Malachi's class worked together with the older kids to put on a musical.  It was called Christmas in Reverse.  They told the Christmas story going back to Adam and Eve and our need for a Savior.  Malachi had a speaking line telling of how after the prophet Malachi, God was silent until the Savior appeared.  He spoke his line so clearly and projected his voice so well.  We were really proud of him.   Here, the second grade "angels" are waiting to get on stage.

Here Malachi and his classmates are singing one of their songs telling the story of Christmas.  It was a beautifully done show.  Again this year I had tears in my eyes as I took in the truth of God's wonderful plan told by the mouths of children.  Well done, Malachi and Sonora!