Better than Mrs. Butterworth's

I have to say I have never thought of myself as a great cook or one that likes to make things from scratch. But these days, I'm learning to improvise and try new things. So I tried my hand at making my own pancake syrup since that is not available here. It really wasn't that hard and we enjoyed pancakes a couple of mornings this week.



The best part (and another incentive to keep making it) is the cute bottle I found to store my syrup. :)

Future Basketball Star

Asher got his first little basketball and hoop the other day. Dad is working with him on his shot. You can see he is quite focused on the basket.

He went for the slam dunk!

And of course, has to celebrate afterwards!

Our view

A view from our apartment window of a new mosque that is being built.

Language Lesson

Our first several hours of language learning is simply listening and becoming familiar with the sounds and words of the language. Here is a sample of one of our first language sessions with our language helper. In this clip he is saying the names of animals. We video tape each lesson and go back and review it later.

Wedding Party

Wedding parties are a common occurance in our city during the summer. One of our first days here we got to see firsthand a wedding celebration from our friend's balcony.

Happy 4th of July!

We have missed being with family this 4th of July, but were blessed to get to celebrate

with friends at a BEAUTIFUL beach!! Here are a few pictures of our fun day in the sun.

A gift for Asher

Asher is so loved here among the people. Anytime we go out and about he gets hugs, kisses, and little gifts. Here is a picture of one of Asher's gifts he received: His First Gun!! We had to laugh! This will hopefully be the only gun he ever holds! (It actually is a little flashlight.)

"Mmm, this tastes good!"

Our New Pad

We have a new apartment! We are hoping to move in next week. Our apartment is the 2nd balcony shown in this first picture. I (Rachael) can't wait to create a home for us here.

Our kitchen

Living Room

Squatty toilet: I don't know if I'll use this one much! Maybe this will be Reed and Asher's bathroom! We have a western bathroom as well.

More pictures to come when we get this place furnished!