Christmas Tree Day

Blog Post About December 2021

You've seen this before (in the link, you can see how little all the kids were when we moved here).

This is how Christmas starts out for us every year.

Doug got the pole and stand out on November 30, ready for our tree decorating day on December 1st.

I prepped all the junk food (plus ordered falafel and hummus).

Keira made labels for all the food

Doug hung the stockings and set up the advent calendar with candles.

And the kids started putting the boards in place.

My language helper came over after work to help hang ornaments, 

Kylie called in by video and hung out with us, 

and Doug had such good help from the kids, as you can see below 😂

The tree always turns out amazing and all I take care of is the food :)

We Have a Senior

Blog Post about November 2021

Did I wait until November to take "first day of school" pictures?

Yes, I did.

Does anyone know why?

No, they do not.

Do we have a SENIOR this year?

YES, WE DO!

The current academics presently living at home

Since it was only 10pm in Nashville, our distant academic joined us.

Our fourth grader at the French School

Our very tall Sophomore

AND....OUR SENIOR!!! 

Karis is amazing, and this house will feel a void when she is gone.

She is funny, kind, smart, caring, clever, and she is such a hard worker!

She has plans to pursue an education in dance science, working toward a degree in physical therapy.

August Vacay

Blog Post About August 2021 

It's funny to think about August right now when it's so cold outside, but I remember the evenings being something everyone looked forward to because the brutal sun would set, and instead of 110 degrees, we could enjoy 85 degree evenings.

August 5, 2021

Kylie had a break from school and went to California to see a friend she met overseas. 

We also missed her 19th birthday. Happy belated, birthday, Kylie!

August 31, 2021

Doug had planned a getaway for us as well, especially since he and Caleb had stayed in country in the heat all summer while we took advantage of the air conditioning in America. However, 72 hours before our flight, the country we were going to banned travelers from the country we are living in. 

Doug had to go into the airlines office and see which country we could go to that was not blocking our country. The man recommended a part of Turkey that we had never seen before, and seeing that was one of our only options, Doug and I began hunting online for a house in that area we could rent.

This is the view from our rental where we were 48 hours later!

August 17, 2021

Doug had already investigated things to do in the first country we were going to, so now we were in a new situation, but with the help of our rental car and the internet, he got busy making new plans, and then we voted.

We went to the grocery store, but also decided we would eat out for one breakfast, one or two lunches, and maybe two or three dinners.

This is me trying to get a picture of the sunset while my children think they are SO funny!

One of our dinners we opted for a sunset cruise. 

The captain of the boat cooked a wonderful dinner for us on his grill while we hung out, swam, and enjoyed the evening.

After dinner, the captain turned lights on under his boat so we could take a night swim. You can see Keira in the picture below (along with another boat in the distance).

The next day, we took a boat ride to another part of the coast to eat at this "Resturan." When we hiked to the top of the hill, the man who lives there had cooked fish for four of us and chicken for Keira. A friend we had made in the town we were staying in had called him and told him to expect us.

After lunch, we swam around the bay before taking another boat back to our marina.

The next day, Doug, Caleb, and I went scuba diving. Doug and I are certified, but it has been awhile. It was fun to take a beginning dive with Caleb. He was a natural.

Doug also booked us a kayaking tour in a town an hour away, which took us directly over some ancient ruins of a sunken city, allowed us some more swim time, and took us to another part of the coast where we climbed over 200 steps to see an ancient castle from the 4th century. This castle can only be reached by water. There are no roads that lead to it. 

Here we are at the top, looking back. 

Since I had gotten sunscreen in my eyes and they hurt, I kept my eyes closed a lot. I find this picture funny because with my eyes closed I couldn't tell where Doug was taking the picture, so I'm looking in a completely different direction from everyone else. 

I opted to stay out of the pictures after that.

It was a short vacation, but we squeezed a lot in. It was nice to be somewhere cooler for a while and also be near water where we could jump in and cool off.

We missed Kylie, we played a LOT of Settlers of Catan, we read, and Caleb even had an online class for school, but we are looking forward to the day when we can get away again.

Kylie: Home for a Visit

Blog Post About April 2021

Kylie came home for a visit for her 10-day break at the end of April.

We kept the surprise of her arrival from Keira, and when Kylie walked in, Keira sweetly burst into tears.

Kylie was busy while she was here. She met with a local businessman about increasing his instagram traffic.

April 25, 2021

She had lunch with her graphic designer friend and went to see her new office space.

April 27, 2021

She surprised quite a few people with her arrival, and we loved having her home, even if it was for a short while. 

April 28, 2021
 

It's now December 2021, and we anxiously await her arrival for Christmas in 15 days!!

Across the Mississippi

Blog Post about Summer 2020

Karis was ready to go to ballet camp in Mississippi, so we (except Caleb) loaded up for the 7 hour trip.

A couple we have known for a long time allowed us to stay with them as we came and went every day.

Our first stop was the Godwin house, and their kids had a sweet welcome sign for us.

I will tell you some other amazing things that happened at their house in the next post.

July 15, 2020

L (Godwin)'s four younger kids took Keira under their wing, and they had a great time together.

Trampoline park....Mexican food...and a neighborhood friend group coming together to do a "Frozen" skit.

She had so much fun, so they invited her back again for an upcoming birthday party.

While Keira was having the time of her life, Doug and I went to see another dear friend.

I don't know why I have pictures with some and not with others, but that's just how it works sometimes.

We saw the Coggins', J Goff, Pettus', Manuel's, K Adcox, Gregory's, Neese's, Caldwell's, Stovall's, C Woods, Hardin's, Carraway's, N Morgan, W Morgan, Slay's, Moore's, Barber's, Ozier's, Harkins', G Randall, Pearce's, and Crowe's. 

We contacted three others that we visited with over the phone but we couldn't see because they were quarantining for various reasons. 

We had 26 visits, saw 64 people,  and visited for 86 hours during our two weeks in Mississippi.

We love our friends in Mississippi!

When Keira returned a few days later to the Godwin house, this water slide in the back yard had her scared for a good 45 minutes. It wasn't until the sun was setting that she finally decided to give it a try...and loved it!

We saw Doug's former office assistant and my friend J-A, who has added some arrows to her quiver since I last saw her!

July 19, 2020

Then we drove a couple of hours south to visit some friends who had moved since we last saw them. We stayed with them a couple of nights, and we had some great visits and enjoyed walking around their cute town.

They live in Laurel where "Home Town" on HGTV is shot. I have never seen the show, but I saw all the cute houses that have been redone since the show started.

Funny enough, Keira was most excited about seeing an RV. She had never been in one.

Our friend David told her he had one, and she was so anxious to see it, so I videoed her first impressions.

July 16, 2020

There is always something new to see in America.

Meanwhile, back home overseas, this was set up outside a grocery store where I like to shop.

Who knows what they spray on you that will "kill" the Corona virus, but it is actually still set up now, a year later in 2021, and everyone I see walks around it, so I guess it doesn't matter what they spray ;)