Hut, Hut, Hike

One day I left these two alone for awhile (while I was teaching). I came back and Big Ben had learned how to Hut, Hut, Hike the ball between his legs. Now, the real question is...will he play for the Cowboys or the Redskins? I told him I'd be fine with any NFL team, so long as he doesn't forget his mama!

Our Ornaments Arrived

One thing Papa, Grandma, and Grandaddy brought back to us (in addition to cheddar cheese, bacon, Hershey's kisses...the list goes on and on!) were the ornaments I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. They turned out great. Each night we're reading a Scripture passage, then answering questions from it, then hanging the ornament that represents that aspect of Jesus' life. Here we laid them all out to put them in order. Can you find the nail-printed hand and the tomb?

Let's Start at the Very Beginning!

I haven't blogged in a week! Thank you for all your sweet requests to read a blog soon! I guess I've just been too busy sittin' around thinking, "I just can't believe my parents are actually here!" We have had a super week.

So, back to the beginning...we filled our last weekend before Papa, Grandma, and Grandaddy came by going to basketball games. Our high school boys did great! I always nearly lose my voice at the games. For some of us, we are there to watch the boys play and hopefully win and be good sportsmen...for others, we are there to sit and chat with friends...for others...well, see for yourself. It's all about the food.

We left part way through the last game to make the trek out to the airport. On the way, the kids said, "Hey, are you going to jump the median curb like you did last time?!" Oops. They are supposed to forget things from their childhood, aren't they?

We anxiously waited behind the gate to see our loved ones. Once when the doors opened for someone else, we got a glimpse of them.

And then the big moment arrived...who got to hug whom first was all pre-arranged and negotiated prior to their entrance. In the end, everyone got to hug everyone, and there were many happy people.

This little guy was very happy to see his Papa, in spite of what this picture reflects. He saw Papa and scrunched up his eyebrows, as if to say, "Hmmm. I know you." Then he showed off his walking. Welcome Home, Papa! Welcome to Turkey, Grandma and Grandaddy! You were worth the wait.

Playday

I am just at the finish line! CC gets here this afternoon. This week I had the very special treat of meeting a friend at the park for some fellowship. It was her birthday, so we met for a simple breakfast of pogaca and hot cocoa. We call these things playdays, but all of you moms know, it is really a 'talkday' for the moms! It was so good to get out of the house and enjoy some time with a friend.

I told Big Ben to go stand next to his little friend for a picture. I turned around and he was hugging her.

...and hugging her, until she nearly fell over. He's a big little guy. Watch out, girls!

And after he finished off my hot cocoa, we headed home. This little "Lover Not a Fighter" couldn't keep his eyes open after all that lovin'!

Lights, Camera, Smile (Take 2)

Last night was special indeed. As I've written in this blog before, we are very honored from time to time to be invited to Embassy functions for some of the many nationalities represented at our school. (Sometimes I have to pinch myself, I really was just plannin' on living in a hut in Mexico somewhere.) This week we were invited by the Ambassador of a Former-USSR-Now-Independent country. He has two little girls attending our school. He told his little girls they could each invite one friend. Guess who they picked?

What a treat! Instead of just watching mom put a string of pearls around her neck and throw on her high heels, two of my little dears got to join me. I picked out their dresses, and I chose very carefully. I was fully aware that Perma-Baby would need something "chiffony" and down to her ankles at least. I put it on her, and she began her flotation through the house. I had dolled them both up, then felt I needed to check on a very quiet Big Ben before I walked out the door. I found him, having finished his mac-n-cheese, sitting on the tray of his high chair, up to his nose and elbows in cheese sauce. Grungy. Gross. All I could say was, "I am so glad I have some girls!"

So, we got on the private bus and were driven to a very nice hotel, at which point, Perma-Baby asked me, "Is this where S___________ (her little friend) lives?!"

Also in attendance were the girls' teachers and their spouses. It didn't take long before my friend's spouse said to me, "Eva acts like she owns the place, she's not nervous at all." Yes, she had walked down the receiving line and shaken the hand of each dignitary and said, "Thank you for inviting me." as I had instructed her. Yes, she dove right in to the appetizers set out on the little tables. There were only four children invited, my two and the Ambassador's daughters, so I expected my girls to show at least a pretense of shyness. But it wasn't until the following happened that I realized how very true his comment was. A group of four men were standing and being interviewed by a television crew. There were cameras and video cameras everywhere! Perma-Baby decided she needed some dessert, so I walked her to the line. The men with the tv camera on them were between the food and Eva. So, she reached up, tugged on a man's suit coat and said, "Scuse me, can you move out of my way?!" My mouth fell, my eyes bulged. I hissed, "EVA! What did you just SAY?!" She saw my shock and said, "Oh, I mean, 'scuse me please." He stopped his interview, had no idea what she had said (he did not speak English), pinched her fat little cheek, and said in another language, "May Allah bless her." My heart started beating again, I got her the dessert. Then she and her buddy plopped down on the floor of the ballroom and dove into the desserts. I thought it was so cute. I came over and said, "Look here, girls, smile for me." I, of course, wanted a picture of her in the poofy dress, eating her dessert, at an Embassy function, with the Ambassador's daughter. This was historic!

And what did she say? She pulled one of those, "My finger is sticky." I said, "We'll wipe it LATER! Now SMILE at me!" On and on we went. She could not get the sticky finger off her mind...that is, UNTIL a camera crew came. Suddenly, she flung her body sideways, threw her head back, and began grinning for that cameraman like she was Zsa Zsa Gabor.

It became an eternal smile as you can see below. Just as long as he was filming, she would smile. And what did I do? I took pictures, with his camera in the corner, just to show you the audacity of the whole thing.

And she got so full of herself, on the way home, she asked if I could carry her into the house. The little miss had grown tired of all the festivities. But I don't think I'll ever grow tired of watching my kids take in life here.

Lights, Camera, Smile

Last night was special indeed. As I've written in this blog before, we are very honored from time to time to be invited to Embassy functions for some of the many nationalities represented at our school. (Sometimes I have to pinch myself, I really was just plannin' on living in a hut in Mexico somewhere.) This week we were invited by the Ambassador of a Former-USSR-Now-Independent country. He has two little girls attending our school. He told his little girls they could each invite one friend. Guess who they picked?

What a treat! Instead of just watching mom put a string of pearls around her neck and throw on her high heels, two of my little dears got to join me. I picked out their dresses, and I chose very carefully. I was fully aware that Perma-Baby would need something "chiffony" and down to her ankles at least. I put it on her, and she began her flotation through the house. I had dolled them both up, then felt I needed to check on a very quiet Big Ben before I walked out the door. I found him, having finished his mac-n-cheese, sitting on the tray of his high chair, up to his nose and elbows in cheese sauce. Grungy. Gross. All I could say was, "I am so glad I have some girls!"

So, we got on the private bus and were driven to a very nice hotel, at which point, Perma-Baby asked me, "Is this where S___________ (her little friend) lives?!"

Also in attendance were the girls' teachers and their spouses. It didn't take long before my friend's spouse said to me, "Eva acts like she owns the place, she's not nervous at all." Yes, she had walked down the receiving line and shaken the hand of each dignitary and said, "Thank you for inviting me." as I had instructed her. Yes, she dove right in to the appetizers set out on the little tables. There were only four children invited, my two and the Ambassador's daughters, so I expected my girls to show at least a pretense of shyness. But it wasn't until the following happened that I realized how very true his comment was. A group of four men were standing and being interviewed by a television crew. There were cameras and video cameras everywhere! Perma-Baby decided she needed some dessert, so I walked her to the line. The men with the tv camera on them were between her and the food. So, she reached up, tugged on a man's suit coat and said, "Scuse me, can you move out of my way?!" My mouth fell, my eyes bulged. I hissed, "EVA! What did you just SAY?!" She saw my shock and said, "Oh, I mean, 'scuse me please." He stopped his interview, had no idea what she had said (he did not speak English), pinched her fat little cheek and said in another language, "May Allah bless her." My heart started beating again, I got her the dessert. Then she and her buddy plopped down on the floor of the ballroom and dove into the desserts. I thought it was so cute. I came over and said, "Look here, girls, smile for me." I, of course, wanted a picture of her in the poofy dress, eating her dessert, at an Embassy function, with the Ambassador's daughter. This was historic!

And what did she say? She pulled one of those, "My finger is sticky." I said, "We'll wipe it LATER! Now SMILE at me!" On and on we went. She could not get the sticky finger off her mind...that is, UNTIL a camera crew came. Suddenly, she flung her body sideways, threw her head back, and began grinning for that cameraman like she was Zsa Zsa Gabor.

It became an eternal smile as you can see her. Just as long as he was filming, she would smile. And what did I do? I took pictures, with his camera in the corner, just to show you the audacity of the whole thing.

And she got so full of herself, on the way home, she asked if I could carry her into the house. The little miss had grown tired of all the festivities. But I don't think I'll ever grow tired of watching my kids take in life here.

A Little Excited

Well, my two week stint as a single mom is almost up. And I'm very happy about that. I never had to give any spankins', though I did wield a spank stick a time or two. We got all assignments turned in on time. Everyone had a packed lunch each day. Only once did Perma-Baby walk to school with tights so small they kept pullin' down her undies. And only once or twice did I cry. We managed. We had fun. I read Ol' Yeller to them. We ate the simplest meals possible, but the kids thought the chicken nuggets were a rare treat. And now...at the end of it all, I get to have CC back. Man, I've missed him. AND my parents are flying back with him for a visit. I can't begin to tell you how excited I am. The last time they came was 4.5 years ago, when Perma-Baby really was a baby.

The girls have grown a lot since then. AND we've added a boy!

We plan to do a lot of just normal life, only with dear grandparents thrown into the mix. Piano practice with a granddaddy to hear the songs. Tae Kwon Do lesson with a grandma to try their moves on. Bedtime routine with a grandparent to read to them. It's going to be a fun 2.5 weeks!

My Spanish Class

Here's my Spanish Class. We had a party on Friday in honor of Valentine's Day. They made Spanish valentines to each other. And they brought all this fabulous food, including Indonesian "Mee Goreng" from my Indonesian student, which made "mee" very happy. I told her I'd give her an "A" if I was allowed to, just for reminding me of good ol' Singaporean food!

I took this little, big guy with me. I could not even get his picture for his interest in those big kids.

Our Valentine's Party

Make a Smilebox photobook

This is only a test...

Beeeeeeep. This is a only a test. Just thought I'd see a) how zooty a blog background can become in just a matter of a few clicks and b) if CC is reading my blog. I can hear it now..."We're classy. Pink and xoxoxoxo all over the page?!"

Manna for Today

Today the kids had no clubs or lessons after school, so we all came home together and had an early dinner. After dinner, chores, and bedtime prep, I suggested the unthinkable. Now for some of you, this wouldn't be unthinkable, it would be normal, something you do every weekend. But for me, it was big. CC has skipped the country, and I am a single-mom for a couple of weeks. I teach part of the day, have a toddler, a preschooler, and 3 school-aged kids. I live in a foreign country. Yes, it's home, but many things are, and will perhaps always be, foreign. All that to say, I could potentially be considered to be in high stress mode. However, I have asked the Lord one specific request daily for these couple of weeks. I just want his 'manna' for each day. Whatever provision He gives me that provides the grace for just that day, that's what I want. So, I wondered tonight, as I suggested to all my little dears that we ALL bake sugar cookies, would His manna be enough? Would I get stressed out? Would I think the clean-up was surely not worth all the trouble? Would I have to finish up batch after batch of cookies after they'd all gone to bed and regret the whole thing? I only slept a handful of hours last night, then taught school, then been mommy all afternoon. But I felt like the idea was from Him, would his manna be enough?

It was. I had the time of my life. An egg fell on the floor. Hey, it's not the end of the world. Everyone had already brushed teeth, then ate sugar cookie dough. No biggie. Flour on noses. Sticky dough that had to be re-rolled. One batch got burned. But we had a great time.

Even a little guy in Stuart plaid pj's showed up, wanting in on the action. We finally locked him in the den and took turns doing Big Ben duty. Think of it like a cop's shift.

And then Firstborn got out her 'Shuffle' (that's a little thing the size of a matchbox that plays 200 songs) and set up speakers and we enjoyed music.

And then Steven Curtis Chapman's song Cinderella came on. You know that one...it's about the girl who dances with her daddy, then she grows up and goes to prom, then grows up more and gets married. I really try not to cry in front of my kids, but the manna had been so perfectly adequate and all I could think about was "This is only a season, I won't have them forever." I enjoyed my kids so much. And I know I won't have them forever. So I teared up. Then one of them teared up, too, and said, "Don't worry, Mama, I don't want to leave you. I won't go to college." And so today, I pray you gather His manna, whatever grace you need for today. I sure am glad I did.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful...

...but inside it's so delightful.

Favorite Birthday Gifts

Yesterday I turned 38!!! Since I went out over the weekend with girlfriends, I decided to spend my actual birthday with my kids at home. We had a grand time. We ordered pizza and Sprite and had strawberry cake with cream cheese icing. The girls offered to make me a cake, but I decided the ease of using one of my imported cake mixes myself at 10 in the morning far outweighed the clean up efforts of a cake made my my 10,9, and 8 year old girls (coupled with the fact that I sliced my finger open this week and am trying not to get it wet!) But they got lots of kisses for offering. I had some really special gifts during the day. Nothing from CC yet. Last year he brought me back an armload of things...strangely all from the Chicago airport shops. Whether he brings me back anything or not, his return will be present enough (I really do mean that...I would not be upset at all if you forgot, I mean how easy it might be to forget when it is the exact same day as YOUR birthday.)

So, the theme of this post is Favorite Birthday Gifts. Here they are:

1. My son saying his 4th word (right behind Bye, Mama, Papa).. CAR!

2. A bunch of sweet-smelling lilacs from a Turkish friend.

3. Seeing a rainbow on the way home from school with my 4-year-old daughter (and realizing, when 10 seconds later the clouds covered it, that it was a little gift from God that we saw it.)

4. Having my kitchen cleaned, having a trio of Happy Birthday played on the piano, having each of them in my life.

I think I like turning 38. (By the way, I discovered if you turn a photo of yourself turning 38 into a black and white shot, then make it have a fuzzy exterior, it eliminates many wrinkles!) Have a great day!

Birthday Bash!

My official birthday is Tuesday. It's also CC's. Yes, on my second date, I discovered that we are 4 years and 4 minutes apart. I knew I had to marry him, I'd forever be thinking of him on my birthday each year. Most years, we celebrate apart. He has to be in the US for administrative meetings and we miss our birthday and Valentine's Day each year. But God has provided a wonderful consolation present for me...my friends! Each year we meet up and go to dinner and hang out. Here's the posse (as I called them when I took this picture)...
We had a great time until some guys decided to show up and embarrass us.
We got rid of them quickly and returned to our fajitas.
God has blessed me with very dear friends, some of which were not able to come. Here is Stacey (1st grade...she's not in 1st grade, she teaches it and is very good at it!), Jenna (ME's precious second grade teacher, now our librarian), Carrie (6th grade teacher who actually goes out paintballing with her kids), Brenda (Ethel, if I am Lucy), Darci (ESL and my prayer-partner this year).

And here's Jen (my long time, dear, married-with-kids-been-in-this-crazy-country-as-long-as-I-have friend and art teacher), and Tiffany with Kenna (my sweet mommy-with-young-kids friend).

Here are the Ruths! Ruth F. teaches elementary ESL (and made us pumpkin muffins!!) and Ruth S. teaches Annika in 3rd grade. Believe it or not, I remember seeing Ruth S. as a 3rd grader singing and dancing to a song in front of church! Her dad married us. All ya'll gals are amazing. Thanks, I love ya'll! (We had a discussion on "ya'll" and "fixin" so I felt I needed to throw that in.)

We aren't hard to please. We all walked around a big grocery store together and got this and that. Then we went to Starbucks. Just at that moment, those pesky guys walked by and didn't see us. SOMEONE, I am not sayin' who, cat-called a whistle to them. Do you think they turned around? Apparently, they assumed it was for them, because they did. I am not sure the cultural impact that had. But it was fun.