Firstborn's Letters

Firstborn is racking up on the letters and pins for her high school jacket! She got a pin for volleyball and basketball this year! Here she is at the Sports Banquet with friends.

 

And once I get caught up on all the end of the year stuff, I'll tell you about my "Perfect Flight" home this week!

A Beautiful Meal with Beautiful People

This past week we had a dinner invitation to a school family's home. They wanted to honor one of our leaving staff members. We were so honored to be included. This family is from Iraq, but they have lived all over the world. She fixed us Iraqi food...and a lot of it! I can't even describe how beautiful her home and the food table was. The dish to the right was a cold cucumber and garlic appetizer. The beautiful green was a salad with the finely chopped parsley!

There was also humus and a pomegranate relish, served as a side, much like we would serve cranberry relish.

It just want on and on...stuffed vegetables like peppers, onions, eggplant. There was roasted chicken. There were meatballs. There was eggplant. My personal favorite was the Iraqi rice....it was made with green spices which turned it light green and had roasted nuts in it.

 The meal was wonderful, the conversation lively. The husband had his photo made with George W. Bush and another with the current Prime Minister of Turkey, Erdogan. But what touched us the most was that we were presented with a very unique gift. Though they are not of our faith, they secured a copy of an Assyrian Bible for us. It is from an ancient language, a derivative of Aramaic. It is illegal to remove a relic such as this from the country, but she was able to (legally) procure a photocopy of it for us and have it bound into a book. The gesture was precious for us.

Here we are pictured with her children, Oasis graduates and students.

Bright Spots in Hard Times

Have you ever been in a really rough spot and just wondered how much more you can have happen before you crack? That's how I've felt lately. My husband is wonderful, my kids are doing great, my class is super. It's just....other stuff. And I am not going to turn this blog into a venting machine, nor will I on facebook. But in the midst of this rough time, the Lord has been so very dear to me. And I can't resist posting about that.

Each morning since it's been warmer (that's relative...I'm still in my winter robe in the AM!) I've been up early, with a quick cup of coffee made by my little French press. (Thanks to Nancie, for opening me up to the world of a French pressed cup of coffee...until she told me I could do it, I might never have tried!) I go out to our balcony and spend time with the Lord. With teaching 23 kids, raising 5 of my own, and surviving very busy days, I've found that spending a 1/2 hour with the Lord before it all kicks in is the absolute most enjoyable part of my day. I can't function without it. I used to do this after the kids left for school, and wondered how it would all work this year, but I am wide awake and ready to meet Him early.

There's that. It helps me survive. But there have been other things, too. I taught a sweet little girl this year, and within the first few weeks of school, I suspected she had a learning disability. I recommended her for testing, she's been getting the extra help she needs, and I just learned she tested 2 grade levels above where she did when we she started the year. I am so happy for her! The family is moving away, and her mom sent out an email about house items for sale. I remembered seeing a beautiful stained glass hanging at her house and that she bought it at an estate sale. So, I emailed and asked about it. She said many people had asked to buy it, but she wanted to give it to me as a way of saying thanks. I was so blown away. In my mom's childhood house, there was just one little bright spot in her country home...stained glass around the doorway. When they tore the old house down, mom saved the glass pieces. They sat in our attic for years until my dad and I took them to a friend who put them into a framed piece and added a beautiful magnolia to the center. It now hangs in mom's picture window. So, the gift meant the world to me, but only God could have known what stained glass means to me.

I've had other bright spots. A school mom wrote me one of the dearest letters I've ever received...letting me know how our small contribution really impacts the larger contribution here in Turkey. I'm saving it.

A man came up to me last night and said one of my kids stood up to some other kids at the park. Evidently they were in the middle of a game and some Turkish kids wanted to play. The initial reaction was not to include them, but my girl took the kids to task and asked them why their families came to this country anyway! I hope she was gentle, knowing her, she was. But the story, as told to me, was a soothing ointment on my soul right now.

Finally, I felt the Lord smile at me one day as I walked home from school. A couple of girl teens were lying on the grass in the park studying. I thought the girls were so cute and that it was such a fun idea, I gave them a big smile. They were taken back by my smile and got up to come greet me. They ran through the grass and just wanted to say hello, ask me my name, comment on my blue eyes. But I was so touched by their friendly response, it served as a reminder to me to love others and trust God for the outcomes.

I dislike cryptic posts and emails, so I hope this has not frustrated my readers. But I just want to give God glory for showing me a few rainbows lately in the middle of my storms.

This Is The Life!

My little girl is having her first ever, non-family, friend sleepover. It's with a little Ecuadorian Embassy friend...who has 2 live-in maids. My daughter brought home this information yesterday..."We just get to choose whatever we want for breakfast." She's also concerned that she won't be able to speak Spanish to the maids. I said, "Whatever they offer you, just say the one word you know...Si!" 

Enjoy it while you can, little Sweet Cheeks, breakfast isn't so much made-to-order at our house!

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Miss Middler landed a leading role in the Elementary Drama Club's play Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. She was Tabitha, Ali's wife. She learned her lines entirely on her own, created her own costume, enunciated loudly and clearly, and rocked the play!

 Way to go, Tabitha!

Mother's Day Treats!

My Mother's Day was wonderful! My son made me a paper jet airplane, which he just knew I would love. Sweet Cheeks made me a pile of homemade gifts. I regret not getting a photo of the sign on top of them, hiding them. It had a giant YES with a picture of me not looking at the gifts and a giant NO with a picture of me peeking at the gifts.

Firstborn found a recipe for Raspberry Cinnamon French Toast, which (because she lives in Turkey) she creatively turned into Strawberry-French-Toast-With-a-Mixture-of-Spices-That-Made-It-Awesome. She also made me a boiled egg, which I asked for.

I got to pick the lunch restaurant, and I chose Quick China. Thankfully, the 25-year-old waiter that handed his email address to Firstborn (then 13) last year was not working this Mother's Day.

Sweet Cheeks and Big Ben proudly announced they wanted to order sushi. What?

My kids are wonderful and beautiful. They just are.

It was a fun day, and I am proud to be their mom.

In the evening, Miss Middler and Firstborn made me a German dish called Spaetzle. They said they were disappointed it didn't turn out like they wanted. I said I would have never even tried to make a German dish called Spaetlze in a million years, and it was perfect to me.

Happy Mother's Day to me!

International Day

We love our diverse student body, and one way to celebrate it is to devote a day to showing off our home countries. We let the kids dress in native dress, then in the afternoon the moms send in food from their home countries (the best part!), and we play some international games.

Here were my students that went all out on costumes! (that's the Statue of Liberty up front!)

Here's our entire upper elementary, grades 3-6.

Here's my own little Tennessee girl between her beautiful Korean friends.

And I have no idea who is in the left corner with the Tennessee shirt on!