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 Well, a friend once told us not to learn our language from advertisements. I think it is quite wise advice. But you do have to wonder sometimes...what is the thinking behind this?

Here is a pseudo translation of this ad for honey. It makes me think of something other than honey.

"renewed every day
like a miracle
like a light of the world"

And here we have the second holiday doughnut ad. The first we saw was for Krispy Skremes. Now they don't celebrate Halloween or Christmas here...  and supposedly it only snowed 3 times last winter in our city, so.....how are we going to "meet with the new year snow man"?

A first cousin!!

 Hooray! We are so excited that our first niece and cousin has arrived! Selma Magdalena was born on November 19.  We got to meet her for the first time on Skype when the family came home from the hospital...Micah thought she was pretty amazing. We can't wait to meet her in person!

Turkey Day...

What do people have for Thanksgiving in a foreign country??

Final Achieved Menu:

·         Cranberry Spinach Salad

·         Cheese & olives

·         Turkey/Chicken & Stuffing & Gravy (turkey was nearly not available as the grocery store declared it needed a 3 week window for the possibility of a whole turkey. butchers in our neighborhood were noncommittal at best, decidedly negative at worst. Finally Tom found a whole frozen turkey downtown at a seller of ‘exotic birds’…another option being pheasant. Hooray!)

·         Dill Mashed Potatoes

·         Pumpkin & Cauliflower Casserole (broccoli casserole became cauliflower when the packaged broccoli at the store had visible worms residing on the florets)

·         Corn bread (sweet corn casserole involved way too many steps and too small of an output. Corn bread was much easier)

·         Peas

·         Can of Cranberry Sauce discovered in friend’s pantry

·         Strawberry Pretzel Jello Soup (jello did not gel. enough said.) (cool whip became whipped cream made from a powder and milk.)

·         Pumpkin Cheesecake

·         Rustic Apple Torte

·         Apple Cobbler

·         Ice Cream

·         Punch

Rick & Tom model the delicious turkey (augmented by a few chicken legs)

Steph leads 'craft time' (leaf rubbings and thanksgiving coloring pages) with the kids.

We had our special celebration this week because all of our neighbor’s were celebrating Kurban Bayramı, a week-long holiday commemorating Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice everything, including his son, to Allah, and to celebrate God’s deliverance of Abraham by providing a sheep as a substitute.  Families here sacrifice a goat, sheep, or bull, and divide it three ways – your own family, your neighbors, and the poor. This is a special time here when all government offices and the majority of businesses are closed for 4-5 days. People visit with family, neighbors, and friends. This aspect feels much like our 4 day Thanksgiving weekend back home. We were delighted to have several friends join us for our pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving dinner. It was much less stressful to prepare a big meal when you don’t have to attend class or work all day (which will be the case next week).

Life with a toddler…

So, in honor of thanksgiving, we (I) decided to introduce Micah to some craft projects beyond coloring with his four fat crayons. First attempt? Finger painting. Failed. Micah was quite distraught at the sensation of gooey paint on his fingers. Second attempt? Stamping. Loved! Why is it that he is willing to rub his finger in an ink pad (that is not washable) and not in finger paint (that is washable)??

 As I grabbed my scarf the other day, I threw it over my head to be goofy. Micah proceeded to run around the house for 20 minutes with a scarf over his head saying "ooooo!" I asked Rick, "when did our child learn how to become a ghost?" Rick's response, "20 minutes ago, when you said "ooo" under the scarf". Ah ha. I guess we need to pay even closer attention to what we're teaching this little sponge!

 As Rick started getting Thanksgiving jello ready, Micah decided he needed an apron just like dad. This was fun for four minutes until mom got the camera out. Then he was ready to be "all done!"

Walk in the Woods

We were ecstatic to find a forest within a 15 minute walk from the metro line last week! Having waited a few weeks from our last trip to the forest, we were delighted to see the fall leaves falling. It was a beautiful day and a refreshing respite from the city. 

 Here I am at 20 weeks! Hooray...the nausea has finally abated and though I'm tired a lot, I am thankful to not feel sick all the time.

 Micah was excited to discover gravity....

 ...even as it relates to leaves being dropped on Hugo's head.

 The boys with their walking sticks.

Micah and Dad and the Gandalf style walking stick Dad provided Micah to aid his trek.

Kiah's 5th Bday

Last night we attended a birthday party on the Asian side. It took an hour to get there, but it was well worth the fellowship and the kids hyped up on candy and cake. Did I also mention they had out of this world Tomato Basil Soup and Burritos with BLACK BEANS!! It's the small things in life. The stores here don't sell black beans. I was thrilled to find red kidney beans last week so that my chili might be a bit more authentic...but tacos have been limited to pinto-style beans. I need to learn to cook more local dishes that use the ingredients available here.

Micah's favorite part may have been the pinata bashing. I know the older boys loved it! Sorry I can't get this video to turn sideways...you'll just have to turn your heads and imagine.

advertising worked on me!

So....the poster below has been posted at nearly every bus stop in the city for the past month. For someone who never eats MickeyDs in the States, it is odd that I found myself suddenly craving a big McChicken. I blame it on pregnancy and the completely 'brushed up' tantalizing version of the sandwich in the poster.
Anyway, not having bought fast food in awhile and not really paying attention to currency exchange rates, I imagined that you could actually buy these super menu items for $1.40, $2, and $3.60. When we got to the counter and the cashier informed us they were for the "ikinci menu", I then thought "ah, so we buy one at regular price and get the second one for this great deal price. Slightly better than a 2-for-1 deal. That sounds more accurate."
The cashier continued to try to convey to us the true meaning of the ad which we finally understood after we ordered....you buy one at regular price ($6-7) and then you get the second one for $1.40 less....thus $4.60. Not such the great deal we envisioned...especially when I was reminded that the McChicken is just a big nugget on a bun. Lesson learned. Next time it's BK all the way...my way right away. Or a nice local sandwich. ;-)