Kitten Trouble

Cappy had her babies late at night, and the first day went fine. I needed to run a load of laundry, so I moved her kitten box out to the bigger part of the downstairs, knowing she is afraid of the washer sounds. I suppose that triggered her fears of them being in too big of a space, but she began picking them up by the neck and depositing them into hidden places. Knowing we had to go to work each day and could not keep an eye on them, and that we weren't certain what she was doing, we were a little concerned.

They were so cute and tiny! This one looks like a little lion cub! (He (?) is the furriest, chubbier, and quietest of the bunch.) 

They were all nursing fine, and Cappy indicated she wanted company. We would take turns checking on her and petting her, which made her purr.

About a day later, we got ready to leave and the one little kitten was not in the box. I decided to just let mama cat do what mama cat wanted to do. But I did tell my housekeeper to keep an eye on them. About midway through the day, she texted me this picture. 

She told me the one baby is still alone and the mama is not feeding it. Oh goodness, lunch hour came and I flew home. All I could think about was the little baby, who had such a hard time at birth. Was mama rejecting it? How could I feed it round the clock if so? I had visions of bringing it to school each day to feed it. 

And then when I got home, I got a very long story which I only understood parts of. With the help of my friend who translated, I understood that the housekeeper had called her sister, who said that the mama might kill it. So the housekeeper called the gardener (the gardener? Who is he, I wondered?) The gardener came over and put the baby in the box, and now she is feeding it. He said if she doesn't feed it, to call him back, and he would come give it milk. I was tired; it had been quite a few days, but I began rehearsing a nursery rhyme in my head to the tune of "The Farmer in the Dell" with all of the characters like gardener, maid, farmer, farmer's wife, kitten. I still may write that version.

Looking back, I do think it was odd that she didn't have the one baby in the box. The grey one is the loudest of the bunch. Perhaps she was trying to keep the peace. I also know the housekeeper said she tried to put it in the box, but the mom wouldn't let her. But I'm wondering how that really played out because later she told me she was too scared to pick them up. But all is well now. Cappy loves her babies and is doing a great job. She purrs the entire time they nurse. She has no problem with us picking them up, but when they cry she comes to them to rub her head against them (they immediately quiet). She's doing a good job. We have a home for the calico and the yellow. Anyone want a little grey kitten? 

Happy Mother's Day to Cappy!

Every day that we came home, we would dart into the house wondering if we'd find little kittens. Right after everyone got home from here, there, and everywhere, we walked in one evening and heard her cries. We knew it was time! I gently carried her down to the laundry room, and we waited for the big moment. She clearly wanted company and purred whenever we were around. 

Remember Cappy is just 6 months old, pregnant when we found her, unbeknownst to us. We suspect her age had some bearing on what happened that night. She began to push out one kitten, but then it just hung there. We waited and waited. The Internet told us that after an hour, indications are that something is wrong. We waited a bit longer, then called the vet, but got no answer. CC and I decided to try to help her, based on the recommendations of online vet sites. But we were unable to get the kitten out. CC told me to put her in the carrier and we would try to find a vet. Poor kitty was exhausted and not doing well. The vet answered and was at the clinic within a few minutes. He was unsuccessful in getting the baby out either and told us he would have to take them via surgery. He then said, "I'll prep her, start the surgery in 1 hour, and I will call you in about 2 hours to let you know if any of them survive." He sent us home, and I told him I could come back to see her when he was done. It was a long 2 hours. Finally, at 10PM, I decided to get in the car and drive back to the vet, knowing that he would soon be done when I got there. I sat in my car and said to the Lord, "You know my heart and that this has been a hard season. Please help everything to be ok. Please let at least one live." 

He saw me in the car and motioned for me to come in. I thought to myself, "This guy is going to see me burst into tears if they are all dead." And then he boomed, "Three babies, they all lived!" And I walked in to see my sweet Cappy perfectly still, but eyes wide open, and three little curly babies trying to get to their mama. This moment, the smell of the clinic, the little cries of the babies, the wide dilated eyes of Cappy, the relief of the dread in my heart are all permanently etched in my mind. I felt like I had been given a gift, a gift of healing and joy amid a difficult few weeks. My friend announcing for certain they are leaving Turkey, my Firstborn moving away to start university, and the death of Phaselis had been painful. But these little kittens said to me that God had a surprise gift of joy for our family, quite unexpected. And they all lived! Three blessings for my three heartaches. 

Amazingly they were all different. We had a little grey stripped (the one that had such difficulty being born), and yellow stripped, and a calico. 

It was a hard night for Cappy. The vet instructed me to bring them home, but that I would need to care for them all night until she recovered. She was starting to wake up and was determined to walk, but she could not walk without falling over. She did not act like she recognized them in the slightest, as they were born c-section while she was under anaesthesia. And so, I fed them kitten formula with a syringe. He said it was very important that we keep them warm, and they felt very cold to us. We decided to put them in a box next to a heater. CC (such a softie) turned on our heat in April! We kept them away from Cappy, as we were afraid she would fall on them. She had no idea where she was and kept prowling the room, falling over. It broke my heart. I stayed up until 12 and fed them as much as I could. Then I set an alarm for 2 and 4AM to feed them and check on them. We then placed them with her the next morning,  and amazingly God's miracle of instinct took over. She cleaned them and nursed them, and she unloaded a small box of paint brushes and supplies to make a tiny nursing box for them. She didn't like our big box, so she got her own. I'll never forget this night!

Meanwhile...

We waited for Cappy to have her babies. She is such an affectionate kitty. I go down and have my coffee some mornings on the couch before coming up to read my Bible. She always joins me. This day, she rolled over for me to see her belly. 

Firstborn was gone for the weekend, as she had volunteered to serve as a leader on the middle school retreat sponsored by the youth group. While she was gone, my little green thumb Sweet Cheeks helped me clean up the yard for Spring. We swept and planted and tidied up, knowing in a month we will host a little graduation party outside. Firstborn took apart a pallet and made me this little shelf. 

The next morning after getting back from the volleyball tournament, Twinkle hopped on another bus for a 4 day field trip to see Troy and Gallipoli. Here she is at the Aegean Sea with her World History class. 

One of the chaperones texted me this picture of the kids on the bus, ha! 

Istanbul Tournament 2017: Having a Little Fun

After the girls played all day, the boys were set to play the next day. We had an evening back at the hotel. The hotel provided an upstairs terrace/lounge for us, which was so thoughtful. We ordered pizza, let the kids hang out, and got them cracking on the classwork they were missing back at school. 

Our hotel was right on the coastline. 

We asked if any of the kids wanted to walk over to the Sea of Marmara at sunset. They had fun skipping rocks. 

And saying they got in! 

On the way home, we walked into a gas station and let each of them pick out an ice cream. I got this photo of the kids. I had to laugh because it became very obvious that both of the gentlemen wanted in the picture! 

The kids behaved well, and the hotel staff could not have been more gracious. This hotel was set smack-dab in the middle of a village on the coast. Unfortunately, our gas was siphoned out during the night, but other than that, all went well. The hotel manager asked us to take a picture in the front and send it to him for his website. 

While waiting on the boys to play, CC texted and  asked, "How's the homework coming?" We took this picture to send to him. 

I kept getting my daughter, a teammate, and her coach mixed up all weekend. I wonder why! 

The boys took 2nd place that day, and we got right on the bus to travel home. We got back at about 2AM and were up for school the next day. I am proud of these kids and so happy we got to go!

Istanbul Tournament 2017

I really can't begin to recount how many times we've tried to travel out of town for a sports tournament, or even host one in or city, that has been cancelled because of a security threat. It is really the only disappointment my kids talk about in living here. They are so happy here, but for a kid who has worked hard all season leading up to a tournament, it's frustrating. 

But this year, it happened for the first time!  We were set to travel to Istanbul to play volleyball against some premier international schools. Provided there was not widespread rioting following a particular vote in April, we were given permission to go. 

So, we finished out the school day and a loaded up 25 kids on a bus. There were 2 adults for each of the boys' and girls' teams, as well as our team nurse. (She's so dear I always want to get sick when she's around.) 

We stopped part way for dinner. We were in the sticks, and did we ever stand out! We have kids from all over the world, including tall beautiful Africans. The Turks aren't used to seeing Africans so we drew plenty of attention. 

When we finally got to the bridge crossing from Asia to Europe, I knew we were almost there. 

The kids settled in quickly and went right to bed. (Well, I did call one room and tell them to pipe down and go to sleep!) The hotel provided a basic breakfast for us, so we told them to fill up and be ready to hit the road! 

This was my favorite shot of the day. A group of the gals gathered up on their own to pray for the day and the teams and our testimony. 

I loved watching them play. We were not expecting to dominate as we did. We played all day. In the morning, we did not lose a single set. 

In the afternoon, we had only lost 1 match and got to play for 3rd place, which we won. I was so proud of them! These girls are from the USA, Sudan, Gambia, Macedonia, Afghanistan, Jordan/Palestine, Korea, and Italy/France.  Aren't they beautiful? 

These gals have been playing together for years and are about to graduate. Thankfully, Firstborn's friend is planning to attend university in the USA. I hope they can see each other. 

Seniors

and Campbells! 

Our setters. 

International Day 2017

Our school, since its inception, has celebrated an International Day at the elementary level. The kids wear clothing from their native country, or a country they would like to represent, and the mamas send in homemade food from their country (the real reason the teachers want to celebrate!). This year, we decided to extend it to the Secondary level and to make it coincide with Turkey's Children's Day holiday. It was a fun day. Here's how we represented...

Big Ben decided to represent America. He wore his Redskins jersey (sorry, Dallas fans, I'm following the Biblical command to submit) and his holey jeans. I heard that he told everyone he was dressed like his cousins, because they wear holey jeans. ha ha! 

This gal, as she always has at every Geography fair or other occasion to dress in native attire, represented Singapore. She wears the batik well. 

Sweet Cheeks and I found every bit of plaid we could find and sported our Scotland wear. Such a cute lass she is. 

These girls had fun coming up with a Turkish costume. They decided to dress like so many of the teyzes (aunties) they see in the countryside, and even our housekeeper. 

Volleyball Season 2017

This has been a fabulous volleyball season. I agreed to help coach this year. I'm assisting the head coach by taking on one of the three weekly practices and just being there as a helper. I've loved doing it, as I get time with my girls and their friends. Plus I love volleyball!

We had several friendly matches, then got to travel to Istanbul for our first-ever out of town tournament. It was so much fun to have better competition and to get to take that trip together! Riding the bus with 25 kids, managing them at the hotel, and getting to coach them was an absolute blast for me! We took 3rd place in the Istanbul International Schools tournament and 2nd place in the Ankara Invitational Tournament for International Schools. I'm so proud of how these girls worked.

Here are a few of my favorite shots...of Firstborn hitting it over the net, set up by her little sis, backed up by her other little sis! She was captain this year and provided leadership to her teammates.

Miss Middler became a star setter, working on her skill until she was so dependable that nearly every 2nd hit went to her for a set up!

I love this picture. I wish I knew what they were all saying to their teammate!

Twinkle dominated the court, too. She mastered her overhand and her spike and her fly through the air returns!

I have loved every single second of this season. And today I will watch their final volleyball game as a three-some of sisters on the court. I may cry a tear or two, not so much for sadness, but because I am just so deeply grateful for their coaches and this opportunity to grow for them in sports. Then again, I may be too busy trying to keep Turkish teenage boys from sneaking up to see our roster (which they did last night) so they can find these cute girls on social media!