Moses Henry's Birth

Our sweet little man arrived July 12th. I just realized I've shared pictures via e-mail and Facebook, but never posted them here... so here he is, in all his preciousness:

Our new family of 7, ready for action! :)

Walking Like Egyptians #1

Well, we're here, on vacation in Cairo... and it is HOT! And full of amazing sights!

Here we are at the base of the Great Pyramid of Giza, which seems to infinitely stretch upward:

Here's the view of Cairo from the Pyramids:

Doug, Ethan & Maranatha enjoyed a camel ride...

... and we all got to see the famously noseless Sphinx:

It's quite an incredible thing to be walking around in Giza and glance up to see the only remaining wonder of the ancient world:

The boys actually climbed up into the Great Pyramid with Doug (climbing up a shaft to the Gallery & Burial Chamber for King Cheops):

Here's the view from our balcony (not too shabby!):
We all enjoyed watching the sun set for the first night of Ramadan:

A Kazakh Engagement Party!

We were invited by some of our new friends to go to the engagement party (really, it's the time when the groom technically goes to "get the girl" from her family) of his cousin today. Doug and Ethan ended up going along, as Ethan is growing to be good buds with the 9 year old son of our friends. Because our friends' family lived in Brooklyn (yes, in NY) for the past decade, the son speaks both great English and great Turkish, which is excellent for Ethan. They've been inseparable the past few weekends.

You can see Ethan & his friend Barish here, as the groom's family went to "get" the girl.
(Click on any of the pictures to see them larger.)As the groom's party walked down the street, they met an old patriarch from his side of the family and stopped for a chat. This Kazakh elder was probably giving words of wisdom before the couple came together.
Here's the happy couple, meeting their guests together:

They served tasty fried breads, cookies, cakes, and muffins, and plenty of milk tea. It was the first time Doug had tasted milk tea since we lived in our previous home in Central Asia several years ago, and spent regular time drinking milk tea with Kazakh friends there. Milk tea is made with a special type of tea and milk is added, seasoned with salt and drunk from a bowl.

The couple and the party guests left the one house to go into the bride's family home for a ring ceremony and exchanging of gifts.

The house was packed; Doug said at one point there were nearly 100 people in the one apartment.

Their rings were connected with a ribbon, and they placed them on their fingers and the bride's brother cut the ribbon. We still aren't sure of the meaning of this tradition, but we'll keep asking questions and learning as we go.

Here you can see the lamb boiling to be ready for dinner. You can also see, up on the far left, what Ethan's friend Barish looks like from the front. :)
Yummy palao. It's been a while since we've eaten it, and it really is delicious!

It's very fun to begin becoming a part of the community here... Doug's brain is fried after hearing & speaking Turkish (& small bits of Kazakh) for nearly 10 hours today, but our hearts are full of joy to have friends and be able to share in the celebrations of their joyful moments.

One more note: we were excited to learn that the bride & groom will be moving to our neighborhood once they are married, so we hope to get to know them better as time progresses.

Christmas Gifts

Jess's Mom made this Swarovsky ornament for our Christmas tree!

These soft chewy balls from Papa are PERFECT for our little teething boy.

Maranatha enjoyed checking out her jewelry made by Nana...


...and immediately loved a doll from GranBren & GranPere.

Jenner & Fanny sent the perfect gift... we had a Christmas cross that we brought with us to China and it cracked in our move there... so this one is PERFECT! I love it! Thank you!!!

LSU hats from Nana & Papa were a big hit with the boys:

And they each got a watch from a sweet Sunday School class back in Texas... obviously, Ethan LOVED his. :) (Baxter did too... but this jump was over the top, so I had to share this picture!)

And the kids enjoyed our Christmas tradition (borrowed from Aunt Jill) of unwrapping various members of the Nativity set as Christmas approaches, and hearing their stories as it draws closer to Christmas day:

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Visitors From Afar!

NANA & PAPA HAVE ARRIVED IN ISTANBUL!!!

We're so glad to have them here... for Christmas, New Years, and a quick trip down to Ephesus. Three weeks will afford us a nice long visit with much-missed family!

Everyone's so glad to have them here!

Can they REALLY be Four & Six???

Last week, Ethan turned six, and this week, Baxter will turn four. It's hard to believe our sons are this old. In some ways it seems like yesterday that they were each born, and in other ways, it feels like a lifetime. Here are some pictures of them showing off and enjoying some birthday gifts:

Enjoying a horse "Buckaroo" game:


(Pointing to our "home" here:)

Thanks grandparents for such fun birthday presents-- the boys are having a BLAST!

Two, Going On Twenty

Our little girl turned two yesterday...

...blew out the candles on her own...

... had a great time at her party...

...couldn't wait to use her baking set from Nana & Papa...

...and absolutely LOVED her doll from GranBren and Granpere...

...was so glad her friend Mukadesse could come...

... and a great time was had by all...

To see more pictures from the party and other recent pictures, click here.