Christmas Morning

We enjoyed a quiet Christmas morning together as a family. We were up by 6am and were able to skype with Reed's parents, which was still late Christmas Eve for them. Excuse the pjs and bedhead on everyone (except Urban)! :)

Our living room soon turned into looking like a tornado hit:


Reed opening up a gift:


Urban's first Christmas: (he got his first pair of shoes)


More gift opening:

It was a Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve day with our friends. We enjoyed good food, singing, a time of sharing, games, presents, and movies.

We made banana slushie (a tradition in Reed's family). Here the kids are enjoying some:


All of the kids: (Urban was a little heavy for Asher to hold up!)


Lynn reading a Christmas story to the kids:

My friend, Sheryl, got this photo of Asher and Urban:

Asher opening up his gift:

Urban relaxing and enjoying the holiday:

We had a fun day together!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Christmas Cookies

My language tutor and her sister came over tonight to decorate Christmas cookies with Asher and me. We had a lot of fun together. I've been learning a ton over the course of the last year and half about this new culture I live in, as well as their holidays and traditions. It was fun to be able to share a little bit of Christmas with them.



These gals are super creative and made beautiful cookies. Here are some of our very colorful cookies:


The cookie crew:


Asher had a blast helping! He got to stay up way past his bedtime and eat cookies. You can't beat that.

Urban- 5 months

Urban is (almost) 5 months! Technically, he turns 5 months on Christmas, but I have a feeling a will be doing other things that day, so I'm trying to get ahead.

Anyway, hard to believe he is this old already. Urban is full of giggles these days. He loves to be cuddled and finds great comfort in his thumb. He's starting to reach for things with his hands and, of course, everything goes in his mouth. He thinks he needs to eat a lot and still gets up at least once each night. He loves his big brother, Asher, and watches him very intently. He spits up a ton, so anyone who holds him takes the risk of getting doused by him. When he is sad or mad he is quite dramatic and will let you know. He's got quite the pouty lip and loud wail. He has brought much joy to us these last 5 months!

Making "Sarma"

I had my language tutor come over a week ago with her sister to teach me how to make a Turkish food called sarma. It is rice mixed with various spices wrapped in grape leaves. It is cooked, but served cold. It took about three hours to wrap all of them. It was fun to learn and good language practice for me. They are such sweet ladies.

Here is what they look like:

Throughout the evening Urban got lots of love and attention from my friends.

We ate sarma for about a week. The recipe made alot and I even froze some. Thankfully Reed didn't mind eating it and Asher loved it. He has done really well at trying new foods. Hopefully, I can continue to add more Turkish foods to my repetoire!

2nd Annual Gingerbread House Festival

This is the 2nd year we have gotten together with our friends to make gingerbread houses. This year Asher was old enough to have input into his house. He also was old enough to realize there was a lot of candy on the table that he should taste test!



Lots of candy for our houses:



Asher's unique gingerbread house with some creative inspiration from his father!

A good time was had by all!

In Our Neck of the Woods....

here's a few things you might see.....

Around every corner there seems to be a small market that sells fresh bread. Often they are in a cabinet like this one sitting outside. We have one right next to our apartment and it has proven to be quite handy when we need something quick. Behind the bread cabinet is a home. I'm not sure if you can tell, but there is writing in spray paint on the front of the house saying that the house is for sale. I've seen this on a few different places. I find it a very interesting way to market your house.

The Bazaar: Tons of stuff and it's cheap. A place I frequent off and on when I'm looking for a good deal. You can usually bargain with the sellers.

Lots of scarves: I like them and they are really cheap here. The bazaar is a great place to find them.

Cucumber, tomatoes, olives, and various cheeses served with bread is a common breakfast.

A fabric shop displaying their colorful fabrics.

Ruins of old houses and buildings are often left. This picture was taken outside our back balcony.

....and another sight you might see as of late is my son drinking tea! A staple to the Turkish diet here! Asher loves it!

Istanbul Highlights

We enjoyed spending a few days in Istanbul with my in-laws before saying goodbye.

We went to the Grand Bazaar. You could easily get lost in there with rows and rows of shops and mobs of people. Reed and Urban outside the entrance:

Karen looking at some scarves outside of the bazaar:

The Blue Mosque:

Karen and I:

Craig and Urban having some bonding time!

Enjoying the view from our hotel:

Our last day together:

We had a wonderful time! Goodbyes are always hard, but the time together was so special for all of us.

More highlights

We enjoyed trying out several restuarants in our city. This one in particular you took your shoes off and sat on cushions.

We went out to an island on the lake. It was a beautiful day!

Reed and the boys on the island:

Asher and I on the boat:

On the pier:

Nana and Popi bought Asher a tent. He was thrilled with it!

We drove a couple hours into the countryside to see Mt. Ararat.

Ishak Pasa Saray: We tried to go visit this castle, but didn't realize they are closed on Mondays!

Reed doing some wheeling and dealing with a rug guy. Reed's parents bought a handmade rug here.

Highlights with Nana & Popi

We had a great time with family in November. Here are a few highlights of our time with Reed's parents.

Asher and Urban enjoyed lots of play time with Nana and Popi.

Asher enjoyed going to the park.

Asher loves to swing.

We hiked up to see the ruins of a castle in our city. (Castle in the background.)

Reed and Craig working their magic in the kitchen. They brewed their own root beer. Craig had brought with some root beer concentrate. They are big A&W root beer fans. Since Reed hasn't been able to drink it, Craig gave it up as well.

After 4 days of brewing and a year and a half without root beer it was a sweet treat for both!