List of things going on...

I love a list. So, here's a few things happening in our world:

-We said good bye to our church/friends of over 9 years last Sunday night.
-We loaded up our necessities from the house and drove to Bartlett Sunday night to our "new residence".  Home, sweet home.  We are so grateful for a place to lay our heads during this time of transition.  The playground in the front yard doesn't hurt either.

Coincidentally, this house feels like we are just on vacation since we don't have the majority of our stuff here. The only thing missing to make it feel like a vacation is the beach/ocean and perhaps a hot tub.  I can't really do anything about the beach, but a hot tub...now that's different.  Maybe I'll bring it up at our next business meeting?!?
-The boys and I started home school Monday morning.  They started school at 5:30 am.  By 8:00 am Jack was finished with the majority of his work and asked what was for lunch.  At 8:00 am.
-We went to IHOP one day for breakfast.  I ordered food for all of us to share.  Jack was very upset with the prospects of sharing breakfast.  He gave several reasons as to why he could not share and then he said the ultimate..."I have mono.  I can't share."  I told him I would divide the food before he ate any.  To which he responded, "I'll just lick it before you have a chance to divide it."
-Fred has been settling in to his office.  You know, unpacking 25 boxes of books and what not.  While the boys were at Mawmaw and Pawpaw's house I helped him decorate it a little.  We are making progress.  Hopefully, I'll be able to convince my mom to make some curtains sooner rather than later. :-)

-Our good friends from Paris came this weekend to Incredible Pizza.  Of course, we had to join them.  Of course.  Incredible pizza + Incredible friends = An Incredible Time

-Sunday morning was Fred's first Sunday.  It was a great day.  We even had a blast from my past with the White Christmas March for Missions.  Good times.
-We have a contract on our house in Paris.  Pending inspection and appraisal it should close some time in January.
-We made an offer on a house in Bartlett.  We have not heard anything yet, but I know God has a plan for us.
-We went to a Christmas party last night with our Sunday School class.  We played a game that was so much fun!  Fred and I came home with a Christmas toilet seat cover and a strand of Christmas lights.  It was great!
-Since our trip I am still not right on my times.  I've been waking up at 3:58...on the dot almost every morning.  I usually go back to sleep until 4:30 or so.  You can really get a lot done if you get up at 4:30.  It's a good thing, because when you get up that early you are ready for bed at 7:00 pm.
-Fred and I got to go to dinner Friday night.  We took the kids to Mawmaw and Pawpaw's house.  Bliss.  They spent the night because we were running St. Jude Half Marathon the next morning.  It actually ended up being canceled so we had the next morning off.  Good times.  Fred slept until 8:45 am.  I was up at 5:00 am.
-I tried two new recipes this week.  You too can try them by clicking here and here.
Andrew would like to give a testimonial.  He called it deliciousness.
-I have bought about 5 Christmas presents so far and have addressed zero Christmas cards.  I am not even stressed about it.  It can be nothing but the Lord.
-I had to go to the grocery Monday mid-morning.  I chose Super Target.  It did not disappoint.  It did not.

Clothes Closet

Monday Tami and I went to volunteer at a local clothes closet. It provides clothes, minor medical care and other services to Syrian refugees. The refugees had to be registered to receive any help. Because of the demand from the refugee community the women are only allowed to visit the clothes closet once a month. They are given a tote and six minutes to pick out 5 clothing items for each of their children, only five items. Many of these refugees leave their native country with the clothes on their back. Sure, some people take advantage of the system, but for the few that were helped that Monday there are thousands more in a city of 14 million. Can you imagine not being able to provide for your child's most basic of needs? Basic needs. I'm not talking about a failure to have the perfect pair of shoes or accessory to match their outfit for our Christmas card photo. Basic needs: food, shelter, proper clothing. I cannot.  
Said all that to say...I have a lot to be thankful for.  I am thankful for the country we live in.  I am thankful for the freedom we have. I am thankful that we are not a refugees.  I am thankful for my husband and sweet boys.  I am thankful that I was able to travel with my man.  My list could go on and on...and it should.  Most of all, though, I am thankful to God who makes anything on my list possible.  Sometimes I just need a little perspective, you know.    

Relections of London

My grandmother, Helen, loved all things London. For my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary my grandfather surprised her with a trip to the United Kingdom. As we toured around, I thought about them often. I wondered how a couple in their 70's made it through public transport. They came home with 4 or 5 rolls of film with only scenery. There were one or two pictures of my grandmother out of all those pictures. While they were in London, my grandparents came across a carport sale (of sorts) raising money for a local humane society. She purchased some china. I'm sure it's not of much value. There were only 4 place settings so she took it to Castner Knott and matched it to a similar pattern. That china is what I have in my dining room today. She was fascinated by the culture of England and so was I. They have such an air a of formality that we are lacking in the states. So, I'm starting a campaign. We're going to call it Project Helen in her honor. With this campaign I am going to start conducting myself like a lady. I'm going to start wearing panty hose. I'm going to start using words/phrases like "Brilliant," "proper," "mind the gap","rubbish," and "Holiday," just to name a few

Feel free to join me. I'm bringing the UK back to the US. Yep, I'm doing it. Well, maybe not the panty hose. Those things are awful!  Oh, and I'm going to eat more scones.  Yes, more scones. Those are delicious!

London, Part 2

Before we left for this trip, we booked tickets for Les Miserable at Queens Theater in London. I will have to say, minus a delay in our flight, running like crazy to get there, not eating dinner until 10:30 pm and then having a major snafu with our transportation home, it was really a cool date! I'm not sure how Fred will top this one with our current date night budget.  

We woke up the next morning and headed out from London on our way home. Traveling the world is always fun, but traveling with my best friend is beyond a blessing.

The trip from London went well...until about an hour before we landed in NYC.  I started feeling crummy.  I figured it was jet lag.  Nope.  I spent the majority of our layover in NYC laying on the floor covered in a blanket and shivering beyond control.  These bouts of shivering were briefly broken up by several trips to the bathroom to vomit.  It was a good time.  Only I can add throwing up in the JFK airport to my list of "things I experienced" on our trip.  Classic.  We made it home that night exhausted, but still smiling.  It really was a once in a lifetime opportunity for us.  Or at least a once in a lifetime of while are kiddos are at home.  Many, many thanks to our family in the states who took care of our three precious boys, one of whom contracted mono while we were gone.  We couldn't have made this trip without their tag teaming efforts to love on them.   

Istanbul, Part 3

The next morning the girls and boys split up to divide and conquer. Tami and I hit public transportation for a little work at a clothing shelter. Refuges (mostly from Syria these days) are serviced here. They usually leave their politically charged country with the clothes on their backs. They were allowed to look through small bins of clothes for 6 minutes to pick out 5 items of clothing for each child. We ran out of warm clothes quickly, especially coats. One mother looked at me with the eyes only a mother can have for a child and across language barriers made the point that her child did not have a coat. She will not get to come back to the clothing closet for another month. I pray it does not too cold between now and then. My heart broke for her.  Really broke for her.  

After serving there for most of the morning we headed for a little relaxation at a hammam (Turkish bath). I will spare the details of the bath and pictures. You'll have to google it to get all the details, but let's suffice it to say that I have not giggled like that in a long time. Once that experience drew to a close we treated ourselves to a cup of corn (a common street food) and started our journey home on the metro. While we were at the hammam, the boys visited the ruins of an ancient castle. Fred was telling Sierra where they were going. Shortly after that conversation this sweet girl disappeared and quickly returned with this garb...

Princess indeed.  Is she not the cutest thing?!?  There may have been a little stress over the fact that her pink crown did not match her purple shirt.  Grin.

Not to be left out the boys hit the hammam the next morning. Tami and I waited at home to hear about their experience. Fred loved it and vowed that if he lived in Istanbul, he would go once a week! 
Dan and Tami had heard of a market relatively close by so we headed there. It was basically a giant flea market. We did not buy much, but enjoyed the sights. Before the big kids came home from school (their school day runs from noon to 6pm) we went to Real (basically an international Walmart). I love a grocery store. I really do.  We walked up and down aisles and I oohed and aahed. (I know. I'm pretty easily impressed.)

After six days of fun we headed out of Istanbul.  We said good by to Dan and his family and headed toward home.  

Istanbul, Part 2

Sunday morning we woke up and headed out for the Eurasia marathon. Fred and I were signed up to run the 15k (9.3 miles). We ran across one of two bridges that span the Bosphorus, from Asia to Europe. This experience will go down as one of the top ten coolest things I've ever done. Over 100,000 people participate in this race and the city virtually shuts down. Getting to run next to my best friend was beyond amazing. He let me pick the pace. It must be love.  

 It is important to note that Dan and his family also participated in the 8k fun run. I think Zeke might be hooked!

This is kind of a Where's Waldo picture.  Can you find us?!?  Did I mention there were a lot of people participating?!?

Okay, see the blue globe thing?  To the right of that you will see Fred's yellow buff (Aunt Jemima) hat and my blue Memphis hat is right next to him.  Coincidentally, that Memphis hat has seen a lot of races.  Now it can add two continents to its list.  We met six Americans while running: four from Texas and two from Boston.  It was neat to see how your ears pick up English when other languages are being spoken all around you.  

Before the race began, they played the Turkish National Anthem.  Everyone around us was singing...loudly.  It made me smile.  Shortly after that we were ready to video and caught another song.  The video does not capture the excitement well, but everyone (except us) was singing in another language.  Good times.  

Once the race was completed we met up with Dan, Tami and family for a little lunch. Then Tami and I made the trek to get Kaiyah. Boy, was I thankful for Tami during these rides on public transportation!! Mercy. I have never seen so many people crammed on such tight spaces. Tami kept laughing at me. I think it was my facial expressions. We went from bus to metro to subway to walk to bus to walk. Please keep in mind that I had just run 9.3 miles. One way to get Kaiyah (in the same city with traffic) took 1 1/2 hours. The trip home took just the same. By the time we got home I was limping and laughing at myself.  For someone who really likes her personal space these bits on public transportation really were...what shall I call it...exciting.  

Istanbul, Part 1

We made it!  A little late, but better late than never!!  We arrived in Istanbul right on time...well, according to our new flight schedule. Upon arrival I took Dan and Fred's picture as they were embracing to see if it would evoke tears in my mother in law.  It did.  I know I will be paid back for this some day.  

Dan whisked us away and quickly introduced us to traffic. Lots and lots of traffic. We went to the Istiklal, met up with Tamil and the kids, and had a delicious Turkish dinner. After dinner we went to a meeting with the fam and were introduced to savory cookies...one of the two foods I did not care for. After a long day of travel we encountered more traffic and were home in about two hours after leaving. Kaiyah, who is normally shy, whispered to me, "I'm sorry I won't get to spend much time with you tomorrow. I have a sleepover at a friends house." It was precious.

The next morning our gracious hosts treated us to a traditional Turkish breakfast (yum! boiled eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, fried cheese, and fresh rolls) 

and then toured us all around Istanbul (after dropping sweet Kaliyah at her sleepover). We saw the Spice Market, the Grand Bazare, the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Basilica Cystern, and the Topkapi Palace and had another great Turkish meal in that area.

 We were probably not the most reverent visitors at the Blue Mosque the day we visited, but come on, who wouldn't laugh a little at this picture?  The lady in the marked prayer room was checking facebook on her Iphone so I didn't feel too bad for laughing and snapping a few pictures.

Fred got new running shoes right before we left and he wanted to break them in before the race.  As you can see in the picture they were bright orange.  (We do not buy running shoes based on color.  It's a formula based on price and shoes that match our running style.)  Anyway, it was cold this day and Fred wore the above outfit with his yellow buff on his head.  At one point during the day Dan told Zeke if he got lost to tell people to help him find the really tall guy with orange shoes and an Aunt Jemima hat.  Brothers are so funny!