Enjoying life in the big city

It's no secret, we love Istanbul.  It's a great city, the people are friendly, we love Turkish food, it's so nice to have beautiful parks within walking distance and it's easy to get around via public transportation.  So while we were still waiting on Micah's visa we enjoyed the beautiful weather and were able to see a few new things and visit a few of our favorite parts of the city.

While Marvin's family was visiting, we all went to Chora Church.

Talk about amazing frescos and mosaics; it's unbelievable that so many of these are still there. It was very impressive, and neat to think how these images have communicated biblical truths for centuries. It's hard to imagine life without knowing how to read or write but for an oral culture these mosaics could communicate so much. That was fun to imagine how they have touched peoples' lives. Calvin enjoyed hearing stories about each picture. The rest of the day he was asking me to tell him the story of any picture he saw.

We walked on the old city walls.  This one freaked me out a bit, but I'm glad we did it, and glad our kids weren't any bigger and could be carried the whole time.  I have a healthy respect for heights, especially with no railings to stop little ones from falling. 
 

The way back to the bus Marvin's dad and brother even got to help do some Turkish kids English homework.  (They're quite clever to hang out where there might be English speakers.)

A friend recommended a great restaurant in Sultanamet area.  We ordered a dish that is baked in a clay jar and then broken at your table.  I was impressed and like most foods we've eaten in Turkey very tasty.

Marvin was able to take in football game with his dad and brother.

And he also took them to see the Cisterns.....just a little jealous about that one, but we'll be back.

We needed to pick up a few gifts to take back to Nineveh and so we headed to Ortakoy.  It's one of my favorite places in Istanbul, not only is it right on the water but it's by one amazing bridge and there are venders selling jewelry everywhere, and tons of quaint restaurants.



I'm so disappointed this picture didn't turn out better; I was trying to capture the two covered ladies who were smoking the nargala pipe.  I just thought it was rather odd.

 

We didn't stop for kumpier (loaded baked potatoes) but come on isn't this clever?  It almost made me want to stop but I needed a more discreet place to feed Micah.

As much as we love Istanbul we're very thankful to live in a city where it doesn't take an hour or more to get somewhere via public transportation. We will miss you Istanbul but thanks for the wonderful memories.

See you again this summer!

1 and 2

Dear little Micah,

You're first month was a busy one.  You won us all over with you sweet chubby cheeks, squeaks, yawns and how content you were in our arms.  As we adjusted to deciphering your cries and needs, you adjusted to having your big brother love on you any time your eyes were open.



2 weeks old

 You had a busy month of traveling your first month one international trip and you were able to walk the streets of Ephesus snuggled up in the ergo.  We were so blessed that Grandma and Grandpa S and Uncle John were able to come all the way to meet you.  They were able to watch you grow from a tiny little thing to a 10 lb. 12 oz. little guy.  You even grew 2 inches from birth, making you 21.5 inches long.  You definitely are good at eating and growing.  The end of your first month you even started smiling.



7 weeks old



As I look back at your one month pictures you were so tiny, because you are officially a chunky monkey at 2 months!  At your last doctor's appointment shortly before we left Istanbul (7 1/2 weeks), you weighed in at 11 lbs. 14 oz. and 22 inches long.  Again you were a super traveler as we headed out east to visit a sweet friend and again on the long journey home, you don't know how thankful we are for that.  You finally got your visa and we made it home and you are settling into a good predictable routine now.  You are starting to reach for toys, after your big brother showed you how, but are surprised when you finally get what you are staring at.  You love lights and are pretty mesmerized by our Christmas tree.  Your smiles sure melt our hearts, and I love our times when you want to talk, but that's usually when the house is quiet.  It's so good to be home and to introduce you to our normal life.  You're growing up too fast, but I'll treasure these days forever.

Love,
Mommy

Vaca Part 2

Okay so after a long blogging break, it's time to play catch up...................starting with our vacation

After our day of touring Ephesus, we decided to head to a little village near Selcuk. It was a sweet little village filled with homemade crafts and all the usual tourists' souvenirs.

This little town is known for its wine, but since we don't drink it that part didn't appeal to us. However, Marvin and I both thought It would be a neat little village to spend the weekend at just relaxing, without children of course.

Calvin didn't think so fondly of this village, he decided to pick a flower and it turned out to be covered in fine prickles that stuck in his hands. Thankfully a chai house owner came to our rescue with a pair of tweezers and saved the day. After a good 30 minutes of tweezing and a few tears his hands were prickle free.

We grabbed a bite to eat for lunch before heading to Izmir by train. Our hotel was a breath of fresh air after being on the move for a while. It was nice to be able to nurse Micah in a proper chair, and without using the nursing cover. Micah and I needed a little break from touring so we just hung out in our hotel, while the rest of the group explored a bit of Izmir.

They headed to the water. Found a sidewalk that made my MIL a little motion sick, took a carriage ride and explored an old bazaar, while I napped, read, and enjoyed some travel channel at the hotel.

When planning this trip Marvin and I both felt like flying back would get us home quickly, and it wasn't too much more expensive. Little did we know fog would decend on Istanbul and that our flight would be cancelled. Thankfully we were able to get on a later flight that was delayed, but we finally took off around 12:30 a.m.  Our nephew was playing football that night and we were able to get free wifi before we passed through security.  Our computer speakers are pretty weak, so John played sports announcer and gave the play by play.

Both boys were troopers; Micah was a bit over stimulated, but hung in there. Calvin did a great job playing in the airport and entertaining himself, while we waited, finally we decided we didn't know when we would actually leave so it was best to put him to bed. So here is his make shift bed, in a corner under a tree to help shield his face from the light. In less than 5 minutes he was asleep. I'm so thankful for flexible sleepers; I'm not sure what would do if our boys had to be in their room to fall asleep. It sure would make traveling a little harder.

We finally arrived and unfortunately our new flight arrived on the European side, and the bus/ferry that we usually take from that airport wasn't running, so all of us squeezed into a taxi. It was quite the ride.

Homeward Bound

In just a few hours I'll be HOME (insert lots of jumping up and down)!!!!

This whole being separated from your family stuff isn't fun and it will be good to give my other guys big hugs.

 

I have a whole list of things I'm looking forward to here are just a few:

A big hug from Marvin and letting him get his arms around his growing cubby baby boy

Having my One minute with Calvin again at bedtime

Introducing Micah to friends and our family there

Family Devos

Starting life as a family of 4 at Home, in our typical environment and routines

Cooking in my kitchen, with spices, good pots and pans and knives

Grocery shopping in a place where I have trusted brands and products I love

Being able to communicate beyond hello

Seeing our neighbors

Getting my mind back in language learning, its way too hard to do here

Sleeping in my own bed

Our tiny little apartment, it's a breeze to clean

My kitchen aid mixer, can you tell I'm thrilled to cook again in my kitchen.

Starting to use our cloth diapers

My sewing machine

Opening my birthday package, the fabric I ordered for my birthday this summer finally arrived!!!

Studying or snuggling on our couch after the boys are in bed

Decorating for Christmas

 

Pray that we have an easy flight and not to many problems going through passport control and customs.

The party continues

Marvin's parents graciously agreed to bring a few bags of things we needed, and a few things we really didn't need but were sure enjoyable. (Everyone at thanksgiving said thank you for the imported treats!)


They also brought a few a lot of gifts for Calvin, I seriously think his toys about doubled and he hasn't even opened all of them. We had to save a few for Christmas.


He loved everything and thank you to all who send something for him.


Here's he is opening his birthday gift from my parents. He loves his book. It was so cute that when he opened it and he heard my parents voices he said, "Hey that sounds like, Gramma and Grampa Bares". It thrills my heart to know that he knows the sound of his grandparents voices and knows who they are, praise the Lord for Skype. He almost has his entire new coloring book colored too; he had fun coloring his favorite Cars.

Marvin's folks brought a ton of gifts most of them he has not opened, I'm looking forward to spreading those out and seeing his reaction them. He loves his Cars book; it's sort of a where's Waldo book. I wish I would have recorded grandpa and him reading it as they did it often. It seemed to be THE book he wanted to read with grandpa.

One unexpected gift came from our nephew's girlfriend, she's so sweet and oh how she has blessed Calvin. He loves his CARS; he now has all his favorite characters. It's been so fun listening to him play with them, and even though they look like certain characters he even pretends they are different cars. He's such a hoot, one day I even found him putting them to bed using a pair of his undies as a blanket. That boy has quite the imagination, I love it.

Thank you to everyone who sent something, you loved us beyond words.

love 'em

So cute.......................I just love how Micah’s birth announcements turned out

i also love how easy it was. The company I used also mailed the for me, all I had to was enter the addresses and pay for the stamp.  SWEET!

Vacationing with a newborn

Yes we're crazy, we took a little trip right at Micah's 3 week mark.  We traveled by ferry, then two different trains to get to a little city near the Ephesus remains.  We had two great little travelers, and it was a very comfortable way to travel with two little boys.

We would highly recommend the place we stayed, it's only a block away from the train station and within walking distance to several places in town, and just a short walk away from public transport to get you to various surrounding places.  The staff spoke English, the rooms were clean, they had a great breakfast every morning and the price was very affordable.

Ephesus is a place we've wanted to visit for a while now but just now have had the opportunity, and I'm glad we did it, even if it meant traveling with a newborn.  We hope to go back when the boys get older, because even though Calvin had a blast climbing on and jumping off of marble columns, he didn't quite appreicate the history behind those columns he loved to climb on.  The beginning of November was absolutely goregous, and it wasn't peek tourist season, a double bonus.

We also were able to stop at a place that makes carpets, they gave us a great lesson in how they make them and let's just say it's amazing.  We all were impressed by this demonstration and we were not pressured into buying, which is rare among those selling carpets.  We would love to buy one, but really do I want to worry about cleaning spills out of such a piece of artwork.....someday.

I'm too tired at the moment to put these pictures in order, but it gives you an idea of what we saw,

 The carpet weaving school

 Making the silk thread, which is a very cool process

 At this point I believe we were going on a bear hunt.....we didn't find any bears though.

 A rare moment where Calvin was actually still

 People knew how to build things back in the day

 public potties

 the library was very impressive

Micah slept the entire time

 the theatre.

So grateful to get to share this experience with these two, and John as well, but his pace was quite a bit faster than ours.

bosphorus birthday

We started off touring after taking a Sabbath to let his parents recover from the trip. We took a 4 hour cruise up and back down the Bosphorus. It was such a relaxing little trip and was the first time Marvin or I had ventured that far up the Bosporus. The boat docked for a few hours just shy of the Black Sea. There was an old fortress on top of the hill and we hiked up to the top, it was a little initiation to Istanbul's hills. Thankfully we all made it up and back down before the boat left.

Love the Bosphorus bridges!

where the Bosphorus leads to the Black Sea

Lots of cute little neighborhoods along the shore

Once we finally made it home we ordered Turkish food, oh how I am going to miss ordering food online and having it delivered quickly to my door on days I don't feel like cooking. I baked a cake in the morning and Calvin helped me decorate it with sprinkles. You can't quite tell but he made a nice little sprinkle pile in the middle of the cake. (Can you guess what piece Calvin wanted?) We had fun with our little birthday celebration and Calvin is still singing Happy Birthday to Grandma. What a treat to be able to be together on her birthday.

a Quick 2 weeks

Marvin's parents and brother left yesterday and we so appreciate what it took to get here, we know it wasn't easy. Calvin already misses them, and has been talking about how we need to catch up with them and go to the airport (and yes it breaks my heart every time I hear him say it). I have lots more photos to post but we'll start in order, so here are a few pictures of their first night/morning in town.  We just enjoyed having them here and let them sleep a bit.  Their first full day we headed to the bazaar down the street and let them explore and take in all the sounds, smells, and sites. 

 

Micah's first time in Grandma's arms

 

 Calvin quickly convinced Uncle John to read him some books, which turned into about a 45 minute reading session.  He had no idea how much Calvin loves books, especially when he has a willing reader.

First time in Grandpa's arms at breakfast the morning after they arrived.

We are so blessed to have had such an amazing visit.  Thank you so much for flying half way around the world to see us and to meet Micah, it means so much to us.

my little Traveling buddy

Micah had his first international flight just 2 weeks after he was born.  We had to leave the country to renew my visa and to get a visa for Micah (our life is never boring).  Thankfully we were able to find a good cheap flight to Bulgaria that only required an overnight stay.  I contacted some friends of friends who live in the country and they were able to recommend a place to stay and give me some info on how to get to and from the airport.  This was such a blessing because this little trip was planned 2 days before I went.

I was a little nervous flying solo with our tiny little man, but he was a such a great little traveler.  While I was waiting for my flight I bumped into some other expats on my flight and out of all the people who could have possibly have been traveling that day we made the connection that we had some common acquaintances.  They had a friend picking them up from the airport and I just climbed right in and they took me to the hotel and picked me up the next morning at 6:00 a.m. to take me back to the airport. 

Now they didn't stop there, we stopped by a grocery store so I could pick up some pig meat to take back with me.  While we were at the grocery store my attention was directed to the beverage selection they have available. Seriously before my eyes stood several cans of Dr. Pepper, it was delicious and a great way to start a very early day after very little sleep.

 

Unfortunately these were the only two photos I took during this short trip.  It was dark when we landed and foggy when we took off the next morning.  So I got a night glimpse of Sofia, I hope visit someday again and next time see more of the country.

Brotherly Love

Calvin requests lots of snuggle time with his little brother, which we are certainly trying to encourage.  He's been a great helper too.

 Micah's pretty fond of his big brother too.

 My sweet little guys!



too wet to play

The sun did not shine.

It was too wet to play.

So we sat in the house

All that cold, cold, wet day.

Rainy fall days.
We've had plenty of them lately.
A certain someone has been BEGGING to go out and play.
Hopefully we'll have some beautiful weather soon, that lends itself to outdoor play.

Until then, I'm very thankful Marvin's willing to wrestle with Calvin, and we have his scooter.  Here's a scooter "road" we set up in our last apartment, it muted his scooter sounds for our neighbors.  This particular day he insisted he was cold and needed to wear his hat and jacket for the better part of the day.  This little boy cracks me up.