I've Been Found Out

After posting about Lane's birthday package from my sister, my mom left me a facebook message asking me why everyone else's packages get blog posts except for hers.

Umm, because I'm lazy and I know she'll still love me and send us packages anyways?

Well, that's not actually the answer. The answer is that her packages came right when we had company and were moving, and we had to pack stuff up to move, and all surfaces were so dirty/messy that I couldn't find a clean place to take a picture, and so on.

BUT. Lest anyone think that my momma doesn't love me (her fear), or my mom think that we don't love her or appreciate what she's sent us (my fear), I hereby present to you:


The goodies from my mom minus a couple of things that I used for Lane's birthday cake.

Mom sent us two packages that got here right around New Year's. They contained: two 2-pound bags of powdered sugar (here the sugar comes from beets and is a totally different texture than cane sugar and just not very good in frosting), candy melts (what I used to make the "1" on Lane's cake and all the polka dots, stripes, and letters for her name), nine different gel food colorings, vanilla and maple extracts, frosting tips, a white cake mix, pecans, marshmallows, a pair of shoes for Lane, a pair of white tights for Lane, Pert Plus (Shannon's favorite shampoo), my facial moisturizer (you can buy it here but it's nearly $20 compared to $10ish in the States), Karo syrup, a 2010 Baby's First Christmas ornament (just in case something happens to Lane's other one), and a set of Rudolph board books for Lane. Oh, and all the little ladybugs that were on Lane's cake, which my mom made.

Let me say that the only things that I asked her to send were vanilla/maple extract, a pair of white tights and shoes for Lane, the frosting tips, the ladybugs, and some red food coloring. All the other stuff was a surprise, and was what enabled me to make Lane such an awesome cake (if I do say so myself).


This cake would not have happened without the stuff my mom sent.

So, a big shout out to my mom and a big THANKS! for all the stuff! We appreciate it so much and are very grateful, even when I'm too lazy to give you your own blog post!

A Vacation Excursion

I mentioned before that we are taking vacation this week but not really going anywhere. It's been really, really nice. We have done a few things that haven't been the most relaxing (I worked on our taxes and Shannon worked on a brochure for work, as well as a long process of trying to figure out how our international health insurance works), but altogether it's been great. Movies and popcorn and naps and walks and lots of playing together and relaxing. Fun times.

Today we decided that since we're saving so much money by staying home for vacation that we should go and do something that we wouldn't normally do (at least not often). I was out last week and stumbled upon something I didn't know existed in Istanbul: a Ben & Jerry's. So out we went!


Using the stroller for maybe the 2nd time since we moved here. (In general the sidewalks here and public transportation are not stroller-friendly, but our new neighborhood has wider sidewalks than our old neighborhood.) Lane's chowing down on some apples and cheese.


Look at all that yummy goodness!


If it's not fun, why do it?


Love the chef timer. I think he's for timing the waffle iron.


Mmm. We got a large and shared: 3 flavors (Phish Food, Chocolate Fudge Brownie, and Vanilla [so Lane could have a taste]). Shannon was WAY disappointed that 1/3 of our selection was vanilla, as he is officially a chocoholic! The cookie/cracker is Lane's.


Family photo op!

The only real bummer was that we had to sit outside and it wasn't exactly a warm day (maybe it was 45-50°), especially when you're eating ice cream! So we went to the Starbucks next door and got a Venti Chai Tea Latte (since Lane can't drink coffee it tends to be our drink of choice these days so that she can have a drink too) to help warm us up.


Lane getting a taste of vanilla ice cream for the first time. She wasn't sure what to think!


After we were finished with our ice cream we decided to let Lane wander around a bit. She is quite taken with motorized vehicles, always wanting to touch the tires. (Notice her carrying around the white plastic spoon from our ice cream?)

So, 13 lira (about $8.65) on ice cream and 5.50 lira (almost $4.00) and two 30-minute walks to and from Ben & Jerry's makes for a pretty cheap date, don't you think?


Goodbye, Ben & Jerry's! We'll hopefully see you again one day!

Birthday Package!

Today we got a package! This one is from my sister and her hubby and Lane's cousin, Maddox. It's Lane's birthday loot, albeit a bit late, but they were all in Mexico (rough life, I know) on Lane's birthday, so we're just getting it now. Look at all the fun stuff!


Socks in the next size up, cute shoes, more Angel Baby Bottom Balm, bath squirties, a coat hanger with Lane's name, and tarragon and nutmeg.

Lane's feet just continue to grow, so when Rachel asked me what she should get for Lane for her birthday, I suggested new socks and some more bath toys, since the only bath toys Lane had were the letter-link crabs they gave her for Christmas and of course the usual rubber duckie. And I just asked her to send me more Angel Baby Bottom Balm (since our first and only tub so far is nearly gone) and more nutmeg and tarragon (I usually end up using a mixture of cloves, allspice, and nutmeg in recipes instead of cinnamon since Lane is allergic to it, and I've been on a tarragon kick lately and had used up almost all of mine).

The shoes and the coat hanger (which I love) were fun surprises! Back in July when we were at my sister's and she was showing me Maddox's nursery, she showed me coat hangers that a friend had made for her. One had "Maddox" on it and one had "Brody": they were undecided as to which name they would choose for him until he was born, so her friend had made her one of each. I loved them and told her so, and look what we got! One for Lane. I'm so excited. (And, on a side note, if any of you also love the hanger and would like one made for you or someone else, let me know because I can get you in contact with the gal who makes them.)

So yay! for sisters who send awesome packages! Thanks so much, Rachel, Lucas, and Maddox! Lane has already been playing with the bath toys (out of the bath) today and loves them, and we're so grateful for the rest of the stuff! Packages are so fun!

February

Well, now that February is 1/4 of the way over, I figure that I should post these, huh? I also figure that you're all probably tired of reading the ones that I've decided to keep each month, like making our bed every day, or offering Shannon a back massage every night. But, these are for me, and I do better if I write them down. So, too bad. :-)

In relation to God:
1) Memorize Psalm 1:2. Review memory verses from the past 6 months.
2) Read my Bible daily in order to finish it by the end of this year.
3) Listen to 2 online sermons.
4) Make a monthly prayer calendar. Ha! I already got this one done. Yay!
5) Finish "Shepherding a Child's Heart."
6) Choose another book to begin reading when finished with "Shepherding a Child's Heart."

In relation to my family:
1) Have a date night without Lane.
2) Take Lane outside every day for at least 15-20 minutes unless it's raining or too cold..
3) Have an "at home" date night once per week after Lane is asleep.
4) Be in bed, lights out, by 10:30.

Personal goals:
1) Make our bed every day.
2) Get my pajama pants and tank top fixed.
3) Offer Shannon a back massage every night.
4) Try 2 new recipes.
5) By the end of the month, be getting out of bed by 6:30 consistently.
6) Start reading the owner's manual for our new camera.
7) Turn my computer off by 9:00.
8) Develop a general schedule (chores, class, studying, Bible time, computer time, etc).

All that being said, we're on vacation for the week. It's a staycation, as we're not going anywhere, but we're also not studying, not having class, not going to any meetings, and Shannon is going to be easing it up on the business front. We're going to watch movies and eat popcorn and read books, and possibly stay up later than 10:30. We may even go to Ben & Jerry's, since I stumbled upon one the other day. But most importantly we're just going to spend some time together as a family. And quite frankly, I'm excited.

So Cute

Sometimes she's just so cute that I think I'm going to cry...


"What's up there, Daddy?"


Getting into the spices.


Posing with daddy. Love those overalls.


Being chased by daddy.


Concentrating hard.


Yakking up a storm after eating (or picking at) spaghetti.


Playing in the sink after a very messy snack involving peanut butter.


Fascinated with the water.


Strike a pose. (Modeling one of the hats my mom made her, flipped around backwards since the bill still usually covers her eyes.)


So cute.

One of Those Days

Every now and then I just have one of those days. They've been coming more frequently recently. I'm not sure what's been bringing them on. Hormones, probably. (On a side note, you gotta love being a nursing mother...you can blame a lot on hormones.) But it seems that multiple times each day I feel overwhelmed with love for my daughter.

I don't just mean moments where I think, "Wow, I love her so much." I mean moments that make my sinuses sting. Moments that I marvel at the wonder that she is and the fact that God gave her to me. Moments that it seems my heart actually aches with love. Moments that I revel in her beauty, in her joy over simple things, in her innocence, and in her unabandoned love for me. Moments that I weep with joy.

Moments like these.


"What's in there?"


Asleep with giraffe right on top of her face (and blankie in her mouth, of course).


Workin' the shape sorter.


Toting blankie down the hall, headed for the book pile.


Picking out a book.


"This one, mom, this one!"


All ready to go outside, blankie in tow.


Patiently waiting on the elevator to stop so we can get out.


Looking at the birds.


She got a big rock. She loves rocks.


Shaming mommy: every time we go to the nearby store she begs (i.e. points and makes "eh, eh" noises) for their food. They usually give her a piece of fruit: this time it was an apple. They even cut it for her.


Going for a walk with random Turk #587. Sagging pants. Freezing hands.


Gosh she loves that blankie.


Love her cutie patootie nose and pouty mouth.

It's in those moments that I can't help but think of God's love for us. If I love Lane as much as I do, so much that it makes me hurt, I can't even fathom God's love for us that he would give his Son, whom he loves even more than I love Lane, so that we could be with him.

I can't even imagine his love for us. I can't even imagine it.

"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?...If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" -Matthew 7:9, 11

The Hagia Sophia

Taking on a city of 18-20 million people with a baby strapped to my back is not exactly my idea of a great time. But we decided before we moved here that we needed to be sure to do some of the touristy things while we lived here. How sad would it be to live here for a year or two and never do any of that stuff?

So a month ago it was a gorgeous day and we ventured out with some friends to Sultanahmet, which actually is the Turkish name of the Blue Mosque, but generally is referred to as the area surrounding the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia.


The Hagia Sophia doesn't look like much of anything from the outside (at least not compared to surrounding architecture).

We paid our 40 lira (20 lira per person) entrance fee to get into the Hagia Sophia. And we let our breath be taken away.


The view upon entrance: the Imperial Gate.


On ground level.


The view from the upper level.

The Hagia Sophia was an Orthodox church for almost 1,100 years. When Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks, it was turned into a mosque. It remained a mosque for almost 500 years until, under the presidency of Atatürk, it was transformed into a museum.


The dome, with 40 windows at its base.


Stone columns.


So ornate!


One side of the Marble Door.

The Hagia Sophia is covered in mosaics. Practically the whole building has mosaics somewhere, although many of them are still partially covered (the Turks covered the mosaics in plaster when they transformed the church into a mosque). There were 30 million gold tiles just in the dome alone!


Mosaics.


Comnenus mosaic.


The Deësis (Christ in the center, Mary on the left, John the Baptist on the right) mosaic.


Mosaics of cherubs in the upper corners.

I, for one, do not generally enjoy museums. I don't like paying to look at all sorts of old stuff that means nothing to me. But when something is grand, when it's gorgeous, I enjoy it, even if I don't understand all the history behind it or appreciate the art or architecture for its time period.


The mihrab, indicating the direction of Mecca, is where the altar was originally.


Stained glass windows.

The Hagia Sophia is grand.

If you ever come to Istanbul, you should go. Even if you don't enjoy museums.