First Ever Staff Retreat

We were so blessed this year to take our first-ever staff retreat to kick off the year. Some had just flown in a day or so before, but we loaded up on a big bus and rode to Sakintepe Retreat Center in Bolu, Turkey. It's remote, mountainous, and quiet.

The retreat center has been many years in the making. Some of our school kids even went on a work trip years ago to help build this main meeting hall below. It's a blessing to have a place set up that is friendly to people like us, not too far from our city (a couple of hours), and very accommodating for what we needed.

Though CC had some role in leading, most of the task was delegated. Those to whom jobs were given did a fabulous job organizing us. We had worship, talks to spur us on, fellowship over meals, and some free time.

We had a guest come lead us in worship and another good friend lead us in the Word.

The gals prepped the food, the guys cleaned up.

Here's my cabin after we made spaghetti for 40! We rocked it!  I have to say this because it is way too interesting to skip...the gal on the left is a Campbell (long lost cousin, we call her), the next one was Big Ben's nanny for a semester when she had just graduated from high school and came to serve with us (and I had to emergency fill in for a semester) and is now a teacher, and the next gal grew up in Turkey and went to SBEC for a year while her family was in the US while I taught 3rd grade there! When we first met, we just kept staring at each other, then finally pieced it together. She is just as cute now as she was as a first grader!

And my takeaway from the retreat was this...God has indeed given us a fresh start. The staff we have is positive, flexible, like-minded. They jumped right in, requested me to be a friend on Facebook (which, being the boss' wife, is touching to me), and are sweet and encouraging. I believe God is going to do great things this year!

Salad Creation by Miss Middler

I wish I could post exactly what she did to make this, it was oh, so good. Greens which included romaine and spinach, nuts, dried cranberries, sliced fresh peaches, green onion...the dressing was some sort of mix of olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, cinnamon, cumin, salt/pepper, sugar. It tasted very island-y. (Spellcheck does not like my word...I think island-y is a great word.) Yum. Make me a creation every day, Miss Middler!

Accent Piece

We decided for Firstborn and Sweet Cheek's room to update the look a little. She has kacki walls with one dark brown accent wall. Her brown furniture looks great, but we wanted to add a splash of blue. So I painted her night stand this fun color, scratched it all up and roughed up the edges and top, then stained it with a walnut stain. This time antiquing worked perfectly! I think I paid $50 for 2 solid wood dressers and this night stand. I think I could sell this nightstand for more than that now! (Most of us buy everything used when people move, which is how I scored that deal.) It truly looks (up close anyway) like I bought it at an antique store. Her papa bought her this fun trendy bedside lamp to give it a little teen fun. I am so glad I invested the time to do it, because I am really pleased with the updates! My next project is to antique an old dresser in my den with a shocking red!!! 

Room Transformation....Mostly With Elbow Grease

My middle girls and I had talked about doing something to transform their rooms from a little girl room to a teen room. I found these beautiful gray and lilac quilts on sale here in Turkey and got them. But we still wanted to try something new. I knew that if I didn't tackle a project right upon our return, it might not happen very quickly. So, while jet lagged, we took their room apart, painted all the furniture creamy white (several coats), then scratched it all up to look antiqued. The plan was for us to stain the scratches (I was coached in all this by my friend T.) 

Once I began putting the stain on, we all agreed that it seemed to turn the white to a yellow. I am sure some of it had to do with technique (lack of), but we decided to just keep it scratchy. We loved it! And that meant we were DONE after 3 coats on both beds, drawers under the beds, a dresser with drawers, a wooden chair, and 2 wardrobes (no closets here, remember we are in Narnia)....all while I was falling asleep on America time! It was a perfect way to stay awake! We just kept chugging sweet tea and painting! 

We are so happy with the final product! It took a lot of elbow grease, but I only spent about $40 on supplies. They seem to be keeping their room picked up better now! 

Family Night and Flying Away

We found a little slice of time where everyone could be present despite football back-to-school camps, work commitments, and all the other things that creep in as August rolls around. My mom really needed a new family picture to include all the grandkids, and I knew just the girl with a new camera to take it!

 Here's my mom and dad, I love this picture.

Here's me and cute hubs.

My brother's family....bigger and better now!

Here's a picture of all of us. My kids look so grown up!

Here is the whole group of 19...and counting? 

And here we are being weird. Yes, I know my daughter's underwear is showing, but we have laughed about it too many times not to put it on the blog.

And then the morning came to leave. We filled up on eggs and doughnuts, headed to the airport, weighed luggage and repacked, left some things behind, presented our passports and boarding passes, and were off. I was flagged for an individual thorough security check, apart from my family, which was stressful. Perhaps they think any woman attempting to fly with such cute kids must be up to something. We have narrowed down the reasons as we've researched and talked to others. It seems many folks like us are getting flagged, for the sheer reason that we are flying in and out of the Middle East.

But the Middle East is home. The goodbyes are the WORST part, but the Lord gave me this sunset upon my return to remind me He is here, too. Thank you, all, for the wonderful summer! I am refreshed.

Wrapping Up Summer! Getting' To...

Gettin' to...spend time with family.

...have special alone days with grandparents.

...make memories.

...drive a Lexus?!

...get away from the busy-ness of life and reconnect.

...play with Grandad.

...try on a bridesmaid dress your mom wore.

...discover your cousin's beautiful wedding dress, take a picture of a picture to remember it, then find out you can have it when it's your turn to marry one day.

...work on a church mission project with your old third grade teacher (only God). 

...sing 80's rock while eating a Sonic half price shake.

...build body pyramids.

...that include everyone around!

....try on your winter ball dress that made it in the mail exactly 1 day before you had to leave (and have your sweet cousin take a picture of every conceivable way to tie it!) 

....meet and fall in love with your new cousins. (love the color contrasts!) 

...celebrate the birthday of someone you love in Turkey together in America.

...make desserts with blueberries! 

....be reminded that God's promises follow you everywhere. 

Final Weekend

Our final weekend in the USA, we headed up to the lake house to enjoy some time together and time on the beautiful lake.

 I took a shot of all the kids with our two new ones included this year. It has been a long 2 years of waiting.

 The oldest and youngest girls.

 And we took some final inner tube rides. The weather was beautiful, and the kids loved it!

 Waiting to load back up in the cars.

 When we returned, the girls took one final bike ride to Puckett's to buy an ice cream.

 And we had sweet cousin M over for a playdate. Do note the 10 gallon bucket of animal crackers at their feet. I am sure someone asked me for a snack, and I said sure. 10 gallons ought to do it!

And then the packing commenced...duffle bags and stuff all over the upstairs hallway. Soon, it would all be packed, weighed, and loaded up!