Ethan's newest Theological query

"Mom, how can God see us if He doesn't have a head?"

"And how can He hear me if He doesn't have ears?"

The spiritual wrestlings of my 4 year old.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family! We sure had a fun time. We were able to talk to both of our families, which is always hard but special. And then we celebrated with our friends (the only other Americans in town). We had all the season's flavors; stuffing, sweet potato casserole (made with pumpkin), awesome green beans with precious bacon, jello, mashed potatoes, etc.

We put 2 tables together to accomodate everything!


Our skinny little bird. And they don't come pumped up with all the yummy fluid either, but we were grateful to have a Turkey!

Our 2 cream cheese creations that we were proud of. T made 2 cheese balls from her own cream cheese and we had a successful Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake for dessert. Though the top got a little brown, the rest of it was super yummy!

This was the craft activity I had planned for while Elli was napping. But the kids were content to play instead. So it became the day after Thanksgiving activity. After the lid to one of my 2L jars of applesauce blew, I was willing to try it. Equal parts applesauce and cinnamon, cut them out with cookie cutters, dry for 3 days and you have some great smelling Christmas ornaments. One of the girls crafting with us had the idea to decorate them with beads. We'll see how it all drys. I love the 4 year old boy touch Ethan added to his gingerbread man, Santa and angel! Thanks Sarah for sharing your crafting idea!

And of course our fun festivities hair do! Mama's lovin' the curls!

Moving it inside

The weather is starting to get colder and that means more of life and play time is done inside. Sometimes inside doesn't feel that much warmer, so we find ourselves wanting to stay under our covers as long as possible. A couple of days ago Ethan came running to report (characteristic of a 4 year old boy) "Mommy when I pee, it smokes." I guess our bathroom's a little cold!

Anyway, here are some pictures of my kids playing inside.

Lots of forts and reading books. There were several really long days and I can guarantee you this mama will be ready for Spring.


This is the "cape club" that spontaneously happened one afternoon in our long veranda. One benefit of living like we do is that my kids get exposure playing with lots of various age friends. Right now Ethan's best buds are 6 and 10 years old.

They're curls!

Today I had the notion to do something with my little princess's fuzzy bed-head before we went to fellowship. I had to cox here with lots of "oh, so pretty!"

These are the curls that are starting to appear on her little head, with the help of some of mommy's curl activator.

And here's how it dried. There would have been curls on top too, but in the process of getting dressed and styling a very uncooperative little girl, we went with a "straight in the front" kind of look. I'm so excited.

Back online!

That's right. Today, Jacob-jan came, after almost daily (sometimes multiple times/day) phone calls for almost 3 weeks. He not only fixed my computer issue but also installed our wireless modem we bought when in the capitol. We are excited, and it comes at just the right time; when so many other things seem extra needy and unmanageable.

So I'm going to post all the back-posts I've been waiting to post. Go back and read them (don't miss the last 2 from October). I'm not "a-type" about much, but I try and keep things somewhat chronological on my blog. I guess it's because in this chapter of life, this is as close as I'm getting to journaling or scrapbooking. So gotta keep it in order.

Happy reading!

Birthday Fair

At noon today we were invited to a birthday party to be held this evening. The oldest son at our homestay (and Austin's friend) is turning 39.

And what do you get for a 39 year old man in Aobistan.

What better than manly cologne?

Here's my man modeling it for you.

"Cook"

"Cook," "help" these are some of Elli's favorite things to say lately. Of course she's never as much help as she wants to be, because she has a mind of her own on how she'll cook.

I set her up with a pot of dry beans and rice, thinking it would keep her entertained. Of course the rice and beans ended up throughout the house with carrots, garlic and Legos added to them.