personal

Hm...not sure what to write here exactly.

I appreciate all the prayers and thoughts for me and my family. I know most of you would like an explanation, but I am not ready to talk to anyone about all that is going on. Just know that Brian has been truly remarkable throughout the whole thing. It is important to me that you know that. Even though he disagrees with some of the decisions I've made he has been kind and gracious to me. I expected nothing less. He was always that way. Also I wanted to let everyone know that the kids are in the forefront of my mind. I will be a bike ride away from them at most, and they will be seeing me on a daily basis. In no way am I abandoning them or my role as their mother. Beyond that I don't have anything else to say yet. Maybe I never will. This is personal, and I need to keep it that way for now.

hi

I am currently without internet at home. I am downloading my email at work, but I haven't had time to actually answer most of them. I promise I'm not ignoring you guys! And there is no time for blogging during my quick time online either. Oh...and the vonage phone isn't working since the internet isn't working. I am able to check my messages though. Sorry for the craziness!

best tattoo ever!

I was surfing the internet the other day and came across this tattoo. I shared it with my kids. I shared it on twitter. I showed a few friends.



I can't even begin to tell you how much I've enjoyed watching the different reactions people have had to it. Personally I think it's quite clever. If people are going to be looking/noticing that a toe is missing you might as well have them giggling over the whole thing.

Kemah

Before moving to Turkey one of our favorite places to go for the day was to the Kemah boardwalk. We always rode the train, ate some yummy seafood, played in the dancing fountain, and had beignets for dessert. Occasionally we would let the kids ride the ferris wheel or merry-go-round as well. A couple of weeks ago we took our first trip to Kemah since we've been back in the states. Evidently Hurricane Ike did quite a bit of damage here, but we couldn't tell at all. Kemah was back and better than ever! Here are a few pictures of our day.


The train ride. Of course!


Anna Grace screaming in the tunnel.


Erica, Will, and Anna Grace decided to ride the Drop Zone. Jacob didn't want to have anything to do with it. I didn't blame him one bit!


Yeah...it was entirely too tall for me! I wish I had a picture of the kids' faces right after they were dropped. They were scared! Within seconds they were laughing and talking about how fun it was though.


They all decided to take home temporary tattoos as a souvenir.

The day was hot, but we had fun! We had the yummy seafood, ate beignets, and rode a few more rides as well, but somehow I only managed to take these few pictures! We'll get 'em next time!

Colors

I was adding some pictures to my computer when I stumbled across these. I took these pictures in May when the first fruits of our garden were starting to make themselves known. The vibrant colors make my heart ache.


Yellow squash


A baby watermelon


A perfect little cucumber.


Ah...the sweet smell of home grown tomatoes!

And for the flower lovers out there I'll include this one.

I am a mixed medium gardener. Flowers mixed with veggies, mixed with shrubs, mixed with annuals, mixed with roses, mixed with...well you get the idea.

my day

This morning I woke up with a massive headache. I couldn't decide if it was going to be one of migraine proportions or not. I chose to just take Excedrin and ride it out. I also drank a diet Coke, took some Ibuprofen, took naps, and ate food in attempts to alleviate the pain. Nothing helped really. Despite having a headache I am feeling quite chipper. It's a good day. A lazy Saturday. A talk on the phone to a friend kind of day. A thumb through Southern Living magazines and dream sort of day. A read all the posts in my reader kind of day. And I'm smiling about all of it.

life

I've had several emails and comments from people wondering where I am. I'm still here...just really busy. There's a lot going on. I'm not quite comfortable talking about most of it here though. So for the time being...until I get things sorted out...I probably won't be blogging much. I always promised to let you guys know if and when I decided to stop blogging altogether. That is not the plan as of now. If it comes to that I'll be sure to tell you. Thanks for being such faithful readers.

just a quick trip...ha!

While in Oklahoma we've become acquainted with a certain convenience store...Quick Trip or QT for short. The drink choices at this place...wow!


frozen coffee drinks, hot coffees, cappuccinos, mochas, lattes, dairy and non-dairy flavored creamers...


milkshakes, smoothies, slushes, fountain drinks, iced tea (which is next to the cups on the right)...


a whole bar of lids for all the different cups


And when you're buying drinks for 8 thirsty kids it's anything but a Quick Trip.

As a side note...I love the looks I get when I pull out the camera and take pictures in places like this. Thankfully I think the wonderment on my face excuses my backwoods behavior.

party at my place

One of my most favorite restaurants in Turkey was a little local place right up the street from our apartment. When we first moved to Turkey they were just a little hole in the wall kind of place that had about 7 tables. 7 plastic tables with plastic chairs. By the time we left, almost 7 years later, things had changed. They had expanded to be quite large, had nice booths and tables, and were very popular! They made home-cooked kind of food. A dish called manti was their specialty and so they were called Manti Evi or Manti house. Manti is basically a dumpling or kind of ravioli with a meat and spice mixture tucked inside the dough. It is served with garlic yogurt and red pepper paste on top. Delicious!

Several years ago I went to the Manti Evi to learn how to make Manti. I had grand plans to make it in the states when I came here for a visit. It is quite tedious and I am quite lazy so those plans never did come to fruition. (And besides once I got to America there was Pappadeaux's to consume. I must admit the manti making took a backseat to stuffing my face with Cajun cuisine.)

Several weeks ago, before our friends came to the states for their visit, they visited the Manti Evi and took this video.



And today we sat down and made some manti ourselves.

It was still quite tedious, and nobody really ended up with a Turkish sized serving of manti, but we did it!



My taste buds and tummy had a party today. I love it when they do that!

Day one

We came to Oklahoma to visit some of our closest friends from Turkey. The ones we camped with in this post. The ones we shared Thanksgiving with in this post. And I talked specifically about Shawn here. I'm sure they are scattered elsewhere throughout this blog as well.

Today is day one of our trip. So far we've...


dressed up in all kinds of outfits.


Jacob decided to join in as well. I must say he makes an ugly girl! The old lady hair and goggles certainly don't help his look any!

There have been water balloon fights.










Joint Nintendo DS games.


Face rearranging.


Turkish food making...





And eating.


Did I mention dressing up?

And this was only the first day. Tomorrow we have Chuck E. Cheeses, rollerskating, a possible concert in the park, and renting movies for late night movie watching planned. Read the above post about Shawn to understand how much fun we have been anticipating having. It will be a jam-packed few days. My kids are in heaven! And I'm tired already! I love that.

trees

One morning when I awoke very early, I saw my mother walking up the hill to the barn. Mist hung about the ground, finches were singing in the oak tree beside the house, and there was my mother, her pregnant belly sticking out in front of her. She was strolling up the hill, swinging her arms and singing:

Oh, don't fall in love with a sailor boy, a sailor boy, a sailor boy--- Oh, don't fall in love with a sailor boy, 'Cause he'll take your heart to sea---

As she approached the corner of the barn where the sugar maple stands, she plucked a few blackberries from a stray bush and popped them into her mouth. She looked all around her---back at the house, across the fields, and up into the canopy of branches overhead. She took several quick steps up to the trunk of the maple, threw her arms around it, and kissed that tree soundly.

Later that day I examined this tree trunk. I tried to wrap my arms about it, but the trunk was much bigger than it had seemed from my window. I looked up at where her mouth must have touched that trunk. I probably imagined this, but I thought I could detect a small dark stain, as from a blackberry kiss.

I put my ear against the trunk and listened. I faced that tree squarely and kissed it firmly. To this day, I can smell the smell of the bark---a sweet, woody smell---and feel the ridges in the bark, and that distinctive taste on my lips.

In my mini journal, I confessed that I had since kissed all different kinds of trees, and each family of trees---oaks, maples, elms, birches---had a special flavor all its own. Mixed in with each tree's own taste was the slightest taste of blackberries, and why this was so, I could not explain.

From Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech.

Have I mentioned how much I love children's literature? I have. Ok then...carry on.