Thanksgiving

It has been a long time since I've updated our blog. We've had a busy November. Reed's parents were visiting for two weeks. They were here for Thanksgiving so that was such a treat. I have tons of pictures so will have plenty of posts coming soon!

But for now here was our Thanksgiving:

We tried to get a family picture before our company came:

The boys with Popi and Nana:

Mommy's Little Turkey:


The kids coloring their turkeys before lunch:

Our table set for a feast:

The kids had Native American hats and Dan joined in on the fun:

Hanging out after lunch:

This day would not have been complete without a game of Settlers:

We had a great Thanksgiving! Not only did we have the blessing of friends to celebrate with, but also family! Not to mention a turkey (not easy to come by here), and many other yummy traditional Thanksgiving foods (some of which were imported!) made the holiday feel like home. We are truly blessed!

What to make with Pumpkin?

Pumpkins aren't easy to find here, but we did find this one a few weeks ago. This is my second fall of baking a pumpkin and freezing lots of pumpkin puree.

This pumpkin made 12 cups of pumpkin puree. My freezer is full, so I've been looking for different recipes to use my pumpkin. So far I've made several loaves of pumpkin bread, pumpkin pancakes, and am saving some pumpkin in small ice cube size portions for when Urban starts eating pureed food.

The other night I found a recipe for pumpkin chili. It caught my interest, but I was a bit skeptical that my family would enjoy it because there is no meat in it. To our delight we loved it. Here is the recipe:

Pumpkin Chili

4 cups of water

1- 15 oz can kidney beans

1- 15 oz can crushed tomatoes

15 oz. pumpkin puree

1 c. chopped onion

1 c. red bell pepper

1 c. uncooked bulgur

1 tbsp. chili powder ( I added a bit more, because I thought it needed it)

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. salt

Mix together. Bring to a boil and simmer for 3o minutes.

Asher's Potty

Asher got a little potty today. I am not sure when I am going to start potty training him, but he is definitely interested. It may be because he has two little friends that he visits quite often and they have their own potties. Asher woke up from his nap today and was so excited to sit on it. Guess where he wanted to eat his afternoon snack?

Fall Fun

We had a little Fall party for the kids on Saturday. Thanks to my friend, Sheryl, who made lots of yummy goodies and had fun activities for the kids to do.

Pumpkin carving:


Asher and Lorelai pulling out the pumpkin guts:


Sheryl made some facepaint for the kids. Asher was a little tiger. He loved it!


Decorating owl cupcakes:

Klaire the Cat and Asher the Tiger

Asher and Urban with our pumpkin:

Urban's Turkish Hospital Outfit

When babies are born here, mothers buy these outfit sets that come with multiple pieces for the baby to wear in the hospital. Usually included is a hat, pants, multiple shirts for layering, mittens, and a bib. There are many different styles and colors available, but no matter the season they are always long sleeved apparel. Mothers dress their babies very warmly here.

This was Urban's outfit. The outfit was a little large, so we actually only used the hat in the hospital when he was a newborn and it seemed a bit warm for him to wear all of this in July. It is perfect for the weather we are having now.

I often see clothes here with English writing on the front. It really makes me chuckle, because often times grammar is not correct or it just doesn't make sense. If you notice Urban's shirt, it says, "I hiding from my friends. We play." We have gotten a few good laughs out of this. Urban is cute, nonetheless, and this outfit will probably be one I save to remind me of Urban's birth here.

My Kitchen Helper

Asher has enjoyed "cooking" alongside me in the kitchen. This particular day he was "making pancakes".

A little water in a pan keeps a little boy busy for quite some time!

Family Photo

And Even More Birthday Fun

Time to open presents:



Asher got a lot of fun toys. He needed some prodding to keep opening. He would get quite focused on one gift and not want to move on.



This was Urban pretty much the whole party. He enjoyed getting to sleep on Lynn's mom. :)


What would be a football party without a cheerleader? Isn't she cute?! Lorelai and Asher are just a few months apart in age.

Dan and Lynn with Amara who was born less than two weeks ago.

Fun was had by all! We feel really blessed to celebrate Asher's 2 years of life and to have friends to celebrate with.

More Birthday Fun

A picture with the birthday boy.


Our party guests: more kids this year due to two new babies!



Singing "happy birthday".


Asher enjoyed his cake and ice cream.

If you noticed the pictures are a bit dark. Our electricity went out earlier in the day, so we lit candles and turned on our big flashlight. It came back on midway through the party. Some things you just can't control, and become second nature to living here. It certainly didn't bother the birthday boy! :)

Asher Turns 2!

Asher turned 2 on October 8th. We had a Vikings football party for him. Hard to believe he is 2 already! We had fun celebrating.

Asher's birthday chair


Asher's cake

The birthday boy!


My boys in their Vikings gear!