Where I've Been

Each Fall since I've been here, I've had the privilege of going to a 3-day mini-retreat for women. A couple hundred like-minded women meet in a city, sing and worship together, and listen to truth for the purpose of encouragement. Campbell Clansman has always let me go and willingly been Mr. Mom for the weekend. This year we met on the Aegean Coast. It was beautiful. These were taken out of my hotel balcony.

The mountain on the left is Greece, that's how far southwest we were.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Sleeping in til 7:30AM (late for me!), having an omelete chef ready to take our order each morning, precious worship time, rich fellowship and messages. I loved it.

But I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself when I got there. No baby? No laundry? No meals to prepare? I think I caught myself 4 times the first day, rocking my Bible and notebook as I stood, because there was no baby in my arms. I even felt, shockingly, homesick. What were my kids doing? Would Campbell Clansman manage? Did they all sleep ok? Did he forget to feed Benaiah?

So I sent a cheerful text message. In response, Campbell Clansman sent me back a poem. All was well, he was taking them to the zoo. The zoo? Would he remember the stroller? There is no way he can carry him all day! Would they wash their hands after the petting zoo? But his text said all was well.

So on the second day I started to relax. After all, a man was making me an omelet. A man! And I didn't even have to wash the pan when I was done. But I wondered what they might be doing at home, so I sent a text. Everything ok? I got another poem back. He had taken them (all 5?!) to Turkish breakfast, then on a hike into the woods. They had gotten as far as the lake. The lake?? How had he managed that? I had never even been able to hike that far in there. Did he carry Benaiah the whole way?

On the last day, I had hit my stride. I was truly enjoying myself, wondering how I ever married so well, that he could manage a weekend like this without me. Two outings they'd taken so far, and no one had even gotten stitches yet. I enjoyed the hamam, the sauna, chats with friends. It was time to come home. As much as I enjoyed the easy life for 3 days, I wouldn't trade my work or responsibilities or my precious family for anything. I missed them. I was ready to come home.

In summary, they did great without me. It wasn't until Wednesday night that I began to unlock a few mysteries. I was serving rice and a stir-fry, but we had no clean bowls. To my horror, Campbell Clansman just pulled a few dirty ones, caked with dried granola cereal, out of the dishwasher. I said, "You are going to wash those, right?" He replied, "Oh honey, if you only knew the things we did when you were gone this weekend." and proceeded to serve the rice right in them.

Yes, I think it is good that it is only once a year I do this.

Remember her?

Remember her? (http://campbellclanblog.blogspot.com/2009/05/e.html) She got them!!!

Eat 'em

My Turkish friend once told me that Turks love babies so much, sometimes they say they just have to eat them. Last week when Benaiah showed up at school in this little under-the-chin hat, I knew exactly what she meant.

Saffron Bolu Final Post

This was, by far, my favorite spot in Saffron Bolu. We putted through the city on our golf cart tour. As Campbell Clansman and I were discussing if the golf cart ran on battery or gasoline and whether or not it was going to be able to get up the hill, we were suddenly awe-struck by this.

Saffron Bolu has an enormous gorge. The people built homes right into the rock hanging over the cliffs. Such beauty.

It is definitely a place to which we'd like to return...if you come, it'll give us a great excuse.

Saffron Bolu Part IV

I almost abandoned this string of posts. Almost. But since I had already uploaded the pictures and since it is representative of 700 year old history and very interesting, I persist.
The reason I almost abandoned it is that my mind/heart/camera are so full of other things now, I didn't want to go back to this topic. This weekend in my country of residence, we had our annual "Place Where Like-Minded Women Travel To The Same Spot and Fellowship and Worship for a Weekend." It was wonderful. Campbell Clansman insists I go, and when a man tells you, "Go away for 3 days, take no children, and focus on the Lord with no home or children responsibilities," you just don't say no to that. But the blog posts from the weekend can wait a few days while I finish what I've started...So here we go...

Perhaps the most interesting city feature to me were the fountains. This particular home had a carved stone clock that showed a time on its face. However, the clock was a key/symbol of the year the home was built. It was in the 1300's. And it still stands! The owners of these homes built fountains for the insides of their homes so they could have water, but they made the fountain have a face to the outside of their house as well. That was an act of kindness to the people of their city. Anyone could come and draw water from their fountain. I like that idea. And I like round cheeks.

As I stated before, this is an old Ottoman town. This was another interesting feature of the homes. The doors have no windows, so just above the door, they built a little peep window. Can you find it? It is on the top right side. Nothing fancy, just a way to see who is knocking.

Then we were shown evidence of an ancient city sewer system. I didn't know they had sewers 700 years ago.

Another interesting feature was this...when you walk through the city and turn a corner, there is no danger that you will run into something else coming around the opposite corner. They shaved off the corner itself so you could see what was coming.

Tomorrow I plan to post my very favorite spot in Saffron Bolu, then I'll get on to the refreshing weekend I was given. Campbell Clansman kept all 5 kids all weekend. And he is still standing. That's blog-worthy.

Saffron Bolu part III

You know how it is with kids. You go to a place where there are 700 year old houses, some of them still occupied. And they beg to ride in a golf cart! When they saw this enormous golf cart and realized it was a tour, they begged, they offered to pay for it, they turned on their charm. We asked... some of the kids would be free, the rest would be 1/2 price, it was cheap. It turned out to be a great idea. The factors, in my mind, to seal the deal: the possibility of carrying Benaiah for several hours, getting rained on, walking on uneven cobblestone streets with little hands to hold, and not having a clue where to go. So, they got our business. I am not sure these fellows ever saw kids as excited about sitting the back of their golf cart!

Like good Turks, they insisted every kid have blankets under them and over them. Do you see how I start to get spoiled here?

Of course, Benaiah was all about the golf cart: going, driving, moving. I am not sure he understood the historical significance of our tour, but we sure got our money's worth on his ride.

And She's Off!

I am interrupting my Saffron Bolu postings for an important announcement! I have written about Heybet before. We've known her since the summer we arrived here. She became our weekly babysitter and more like a daughter/sister to us. She is a refugee from Iraq who has lived through, in her 23 years, more than most of us in a lifetime. She has waited 9 years, 2 months, and 10 days to have a country to call her own. Well last night at 1am, she boarded the plane to AMERICA!!!!!!!!!

We had our goodbye with her on Sunday. We treated her to her last Turkish meal, and the kids filled her with descriptions and stories of America and specifically their grandparents' house (where she will be living).

We will miss you, sweet Heybet, but we are SO happy for you!!