Our First Thanksgiving....(Overseas)

This year was our first Thanksgiving overseas. We were thankful to be able to celebrate with our friends and have a traditional Thanksgiving meal. We certainly missed our families back home, but were so grateful for the friends, food, fun, and many blessings we had that day!

Here is our little turkey:




Our friends were on a turkey hunt for several weeks and we found one a week before at a local grocery store, to our surprise. I tried brining the turkey this year, something I've never done before. Here is our cooked bird:



All I can say is we were not short on desserts! They were delicious!



Technically, this was Asher's second Thanksgiving, but it was his first time getting to eat all of the many goodies that come with a Thanksgiving meal. I think he appreciated all that he got to eat this year!



It was a thankful Thanksgiving!

Ready for Winter

Asher is ready for the cold weather with his new coat. He looks a bit puffy, but he'll be very warm this winter! :)

Asher

We realized that it was time to switch out old pictures in frames and send updated photos of Asher to our families. Here was our attempt today to get a few shots of him.

Ladies' Weekend Getaway

We had a blast this weekend enjoying warmer weather, relaxing, yummy food and touring the city of Bodrum.

Our hotel was great! It was beautiful, but a crazy layout on the inside. We had many good laughs as we had difficulty finding our way around inside.

Beautiful views from our hotel:

A view of Bodrum Castle from the harbor:

In Memory

Micah Wessman
October 30, 2008-July 27, 2009


Our precious nephew's birthday is today. He would be 1 year old. We miss him greatly and wish that we were celebrating his birthday with him.

We made Micah a cake today in honor of him. Please pray for Cory and Heather and our family as they mourn their loss and honor his life today.





We love and miss you, Micah!

So You Think You Can Dance?

We've found the next dance contestant. He's going to be tough to beat!

Climbing around Castles

Last week, I (Reed) had the opportunity to visit the ruins of a castle just outside of our city. Built in 1643 and abandoned in the mid 19th century, this castle is, by local standards, brand-new.

The entrance doors (bottom of photo above), made from cast iron, remain intact.



The castle was home to the regions local ruler who was subject to Ottoman soveriegnty. It is located on the far eastern edge of what was the Ottoman Empire.


Perched atop a rocky peak rising in the middle of a valley, views from the castle are impressive.

One Year Ago

Boy, how they change! About a year ago we took the first picture of Asher. We couldn't get him to even open his eyes. He was just a few weeks old. One year later and well........we're seeing a bit more personality shining through! :)

Fall Fun

It was a beautiful fall day today. A perfect day to go to a pumpkin patch.....or find a pumpkin and a patch of green grass. :) Our friend, Lynn, found this pumpkin at a grocery store. An orange pumpkin is a rare find here. It was fun to be outside and get a few pictures of the kids.



Asher didn't seem to be enjoying himself as much as the rest of us!



After a little while he started to warm up to the pumpkin.



This might even be a smile....maybe.



Now, that is more like it!

Thanks Dan and Lynn for the pumpkin and photography help!

Birthday Cake

Birthday by Skype

We are so thankful for skype! Asher has had several opportunities to celebrate his birthday with family from afar.

Asher's opening up a present from Grandpa and Grandma. We skyped with them, Aunt Leatha, and the Arant cousins the night before Asher's birthday.



Asher's Nana and Popi were up before 4 am (Midwest time), so that they could wish Asher a happy birthday and see him open his gifts.



Asher tried on his new stocking cap from Nana and Popi.



A Vikings bib!



My parents were skyped in live for Asher's birthday. My friend, Lynn, held the computer so that my parents could watch Asher eat his cake!

Asher's 1st Birthday-October 8, 2009

Asher is one year old!



I don't think Asher knew what to think with all of the excitment, flashing cameras, and attention.


Asher enjoyed his cake. For his first experience with pure sugar he was fairly self controlled! He would just take a little at a time, and sat contentedly eating for quite a while.



Of course, it did get rather messy. Not only did he have frosting all over his face, but it was in his hair and ears as well!



Time to open presents!



We had a great party! I realize that the party was more for us. But nonetheless, it was a very special time to celebrate our son's first year.

"Take Me Out to the Ballgame"

Asher had a Twins baseball themed birthday party. This cake was certainly a labor of love. Two late nights, gobs of frosting, doubtful moments, sore fingers......all for our sweet Asher! It was worth it! :)

I brought the napkins from the States prior to moving here. Reed commented several times that most likely the Twins wouldn't still be playing in October. I didn't think it really mattered. But it was nice to be able to celebrate the Twins' victory as well on Asher's day. Notice the Homer Hanky! Somehow when we packed to move this summer, the hanky made the cut! I'm not sure why, but it was perfect for our theme party.

Gotta have popcorn and peanuts at a baseball party!

Turkish Theatre

Last Saturday, my friend invited me (Reed) to go to a play at the local theatre. It was called "My mother-in-law is crazy" (as far as I can tell). It was a comedy, and even though I couldn't understand much, I still thought it was funny. We had a great time.

Asher's First Haircut

Asher's first haircut was waaaay over due. He kind of had this 80's mullet going on. So we put him in his high chair and gave him some cheerios to keep him occupied.

BEFORE





In the middle of this difficult process of keeping him still we lost our electricity for several minutes. Since I had a small window of time to keep Asher still and occupied, I continued by flashlight. I had to laugh as I thought about what I would discover from my snipping when the lights came back on.




Asher did really well and it turned out ok considering I'm an amateur at cutting hair and I've never cut hair in the dark before! :)

AFTER

Small Spaces

What is it about really small spaces that look so inviting to a little boy?


His head and feet were both stuck under each side rail. I had to take a picture before I helped him get "unstuck".

Water Boy

We pay 5 Lira a week for purified water and a free water boy stands in our cupboard waiting to pump. What a great deal!

The Newest Little Vikings Fan

Who says you have to live in Minnesota to be a Vikings fan? This little guy is ready for the game today.

Reed gets the NFL games live through NFL.com, so we will be watching the Vikings noon game at 8pm tonight. Unfortunately, this little Vikings fan's bedtime is 7pm. His father will have to cheer in his place.