Mom's Day 2015

My family was so sweet to me on Mother's Day. Miss Middler made me this breakfast.

After church, CC took us all out for Chinese.

If Big Ben can get "Shushi" (as he says), he is a happy boy!

Classic Sweet Cheeks. She held the warrior's hand.

The beautiful kids that made me a mom, starting in 1999!

And a shout out to my mom who is a better mom than I could ever hope to be!

Spring Soccer!

Firstborn and Twinkle Toes worked hard in soccer to prepare for our tournament. We don't have regular weekly games, but a mega-tournament that involves several out of town teams.

On our first night, a Thursday, Twinkle scored her first goal! Last year she played defense. This year she was a striker. This soccer mom went crazy!!!

The boys cheered us on.

And we cheered them on!

The next day there was no school, in honor of Children's Day, on April 23. We arrived in frigid temperatures, even sitting in the falling snow at one point.

Our boys played so hard and took 3rd place.

The girls overcame and shocked us all, placing 2nd in the tournament.

Before the season was over, we had one last scrimage against the Dept. of Defense school. The coaches put in some new players and switched up the positions of the starters, just to see what everyone could do. Firstborn went from defense to goalie for the game. Whew! No goals!

Twinkle went from striker to defense.

And we went from soccer season to finished!

Picnic in the Middle of Town

As the end of the year approaches, life gets incredibly busy. It gets busy for everyone, I know. But for a school director, it spins out of control. Knowing we wouldn't have too many days to just enjoy as a family in the upcoming month, I planned a simple picnic for after church one day. CC took us to a city park he had found while out riding his bike.

It seemed to be a favorite place for Turkish bridal pictures!

It was simple. It was fun. We were together, without a to-do list, just for an hour or two.

Though not brides, I made them all pose for a picture in front of the fountain.

(Big Ben is more than slightly into "man jewelry" for church on Sundays. I think he is wearing his African carved shark's tooth.)

Then my three Singapore girls climbed up the outdoor theater steps and sat down together. I thought it was sweet.

Bacteria, Blooms, and Babies!

As we kicked off the final quarter of school, we found ourselves deep into Science fair projects. Twinkle grew bacteria (I was actually their nanny as they needed a warm place, and my bedroom seemed to be the warmest). Her theory was that bleach would kill the growth of bacteria best. And she was right! Meanwhile, the little unextinguished germs and I co-existed for a couple of weeks. I never get sick! Really. Almost never. But I came down with a strange illness, which left me in bed with fever for an entire weekend. CC and the kids picked up the slack while I tried to figure out why in the world I might be sick. And then I spotted the little critters. Growing, flourishing, thriving. Right there where I slept each night. I really should have made a cutesy Science board backdrop and labeled it, "How To Infect A Mom."

Sweet Cheeks and her assigned partner watered plants with colored water, to see what would happen. Nothing. Somehow she still won 3rd place!

I had the privilege of co-hosting a baby shower for a sweet friend. It's been awhile since we had a baby around, and we are so happy to welcome the new little one just this week. I got to hold her when she was 7 hours old. I am in love! She looked so very much like Firstborn did. Even CC said as we left the hospital, "That baby could have been one of ours!" Sweet sweet.

I hired one of our high school girls to bake these cookies for me. They were AMAZING with a hint of almond and sugary-wonderful icing. Here's a shout out to Cherries On Top if you ever need baking in Ankara.

My sweet friend G made these. She's pretty much the Korean Pinterest Queen.

Fun girls. Fun food. Fun angle.

This is such a great time of year to be here!

Easter 2015

Upon our return from Antalya, we were so happy to get our Firstborn back from her mission trip to Wales!

The very next morning was Easter Sunday.

We were invited to have lunch with some friends. My friend T makes this cake each year for Easter.

Her home is lovely, inviting, and was filled with people we love!

This friend we love a lot!

After lunch, several families met up in the forest for a simple Easter egg hunt.

While the big kids hid the eggs, my friend L told the Easter story with Resurrection eggs.

It was a wonderful Easter!