Eid al-Adha

Today is the last day of one of the Muslim's big holidays, Eid al-Adha. Everything in the city shuts down, so we enjoyed a few days off of language school. This holiday is a four day celebration, where they sacrifice a sheep on the first day in order to gain favor from Allah. They base this off the story of God telling Abraham to sacrifice his son. As Christians, we believe this son to be Isaac, but the Muslim's believe that it was Ishmael whom God told Abraham to sacrifice. This is a major difference between the two religions. This past week Paul and I were walking around a neighborhood and saw some children playing with some sheep that were about to be slaughtered, so I had to get a few quick pictures. Thankfully, we never saw any blood in the streets, as is common during this holiday in certain areas of this city.

A Thanksgiving Friday

On Friday, our team got together at our house to celebrate Thanksgiving together. It was so nice to celebrate with different friends over a two day period. We had a wonderful time eating, praying, and playing games together. We love our team and have a lot of fun together, but it was nice to spend some quality time with one another without having any business related items involved. Everyone arrived at 1pm and the last people left at 11pm. There was 12 of us total, but unfortunately I forgot to take pictures until the end of the night, so this is the only one I got :)

Turkey Boys

We had a great Thanksgiving here in Jordan. We were invited to celebrate with some good friends, who have six BOYS. Another family joined us that has three BOYS. And then we of course have one BOY. There were 10 little boys total (two of whom are about 8 weeks old) and zero, yes, zero little girls. Micah loves running around and playing with older kids, so he was in heaven. I think he thinks (or at least wishes) that he is about 4 years old. It was a gorgeous day, so we all enjoyed playing outside before and after eating. The food was delicious, as always, and for a few hours it was easy to forget we were half way across the world. We have so much to be thankful for, and often times I tend to overlook many of God's blessings in my life. I am thankful for a day of Thanksgiving and pray that my attitude would reflect my gratitude daily, not just one day of the year. Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving too. We are thankful for each of you and miss you dearly!

Oh Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Since we are having Paul's family here to celebrate Christmas this year, we decided it was a MUST to buy a tree. We were a little worried that it would be difficult to find one since the country we live in really doesn't celebrate Christmas. Thankfully, it was actually rather easy and not too expensive. The sad part is that we couldn't find any ornaments representing the birth of Christ or even a star for the top of the tree-hence the Santa hat. Since then, I have seen a few manger scene ornaments in other stores that I just might have to buy.

I must admit, that we have had our tree up and have been faithfully listening to Christmas music for over 3 weeks now. I know, I know, "you are supposed to wait until after Thanksgiving!" My excuse is that being away from family and friends during the holidays is hard enough, but it is amazing how adding a few decorations (a little early) can lessen that homesickness-but it sure doesn't cure it!

Micah has really enjoyed the tree this year, and it has become his job to turn the lights on everyday. He is OBSESSED. We have had to do some instructing and training that he cannot touch the tree...for the most part, he has been a good little boy.

Baby It's Cold Outside

I should have really titled this post "Baby It's Cold INSIDE". Yes, it definitely is cooling off outside for sure, but the houses in Jordan are NOT insulated well at all, therefore, it is actually colder inside than it is outside. At times it can be deceiving, as I'll put on a long sleeve shirt and fleece jacket inside, but then step outside and get hot after a few minutes! We also do not have central heat in our home, so we recently went to buy some electronic heaters, which have helped a little. It is all about layering up in the house, but unfortunately none of us packed the right clothes from the States, as we thought we would be in Kenya for the entire two years. We have had to do a little shopping lately-especially for Micah. Since he doesn't sleep under covers, the poor boy was waking up absolutely freezing. This hat was one of our recent purchases (but we ended up buying it in beige, not red), and he thinks he is sooo cool in it. I think he is pretty cute, but I know I'm just a tad bias :)

Much Needed Party and Break

Today we through a surprise birthday party for one of our Arabic teachers in our language school. She was so surprised, which made it even better. We thought it would just be a little 30 minute break from school, but the party actually lasted over two hours, which meant NO more language that day. YAY! It was a nice break to say the least. It was fun to hang out with Arab and American friends and learn from each other :)

Funny story: We asked the birthday girl what she wanted for her birthday, and her answer was, "To see all the couples slow dance." WHAT!?! Are you serious? Haha. Such an odd request. This girl loves music, loves to dance (as most Arab women do), and loves talking about relationships and love. She blasts Beyonce during our breaks daily, which is quite funny. Although, the slow dances did not happen, we did have to send the boys out of the room so that the girls could have a little dance party. I wish I could post the videos I took too. Ha.

Comparing

Since we had pictures taken of Micah at 6 months and 18 months, I thought it would be fun to compare the differences over the past year. It amazes me to see how quickly they change and grow. He definitely is turning into a little boy these days...the baby stage is sneaking away from me :( It will be interesting to see the difference a year from now...but I'm definitely not wishing these precious moments away. The 18 months stage has been one of my favorites so far-it really does just get better and better.

Family Photos

A few weeks ago a friend of ours took some family pictures for us. We decided it was time to get some recent photos now that Micah is 18 months old. We went to an area called the Citadel, that is a beautiful overlook of the city. Here are a few of our favorites from the day :)

Back to the 90's

There is just something about a wind suit that brings me right back to my childhood days. I can't even tell you how many different styles and colors I had growing up. My "girly" ones had hot pink, purple, and teal in them-if you know me, this shouldn't surprise you :) But then I had my "sporty" ones (aka "warm ups") for the soccer teams I played on and I loved those too. I wore each of them proudly throughout my elementary days. I really wish I had a picture to post of me in one, but seeing that we didn't have digital cameras back then, and that I do not even have a scanner in Jordan, this might have to wait for awhile.

It has been cooling off here, so I recently put Micah in his very first wind suit given to us by Lottie and Granddaddy. He looked adorable! He definitely doesn't look very 90's ish, but rather like a little sports star (taking after his Daddy!). Paul and I just laughed and laughed at how cute he looked...poor Micah got extremely tired of "cheesing" for the camera :)

13 Months Ago...

...we left the good ole USA and moved overseas. That one was of the hardest yet most exciting days of my life. I had no idea what to expect, and once we arrived, the Lord truly comforted me beyond my imagination. Most of the time, it is hard to believe we have been gone that long! It has been a wonderful year where I have learned more about myself, Paul, and Micah...but most importantly a dependence on the Lord like I've never experienced before. It has not always been easy, but I truly wouldn't change this past year for anything. God has been so faithful to us and He never ceases to amaze me. Lately, I have just been reflecting on the many blessings that the Lord has bestowed upon us, and am truly humbled to be in the place I am right now.

A year ago, I could never imagined everything that took place this past year. Our time in Kenya was a sweet, sweet time and I truly cherish the days we spent there with our people. I would never have imagined that we would be living in Jordan with a new people, learning a new language at this time. It just shows me that my plans are NOT always His plans for our life. I'm now anticipating what He has planned for us over this next year.

I must admit that lately I have been missing my family and friends a lot, so it has led me to look back at the pictures when we said our "goodbyes". Of course I always miss them, but I guess because the holidays are approaching it makes me think of them even more. I am absolutely blessed with the best friends and family possible. Thank you all for all the love, encouragement, and prayers you have given us over the past year! We couldn't do it without you :)

And last but not least, a picture of Micah and ALL our luggage in the airport before leaving.