Not Exactly What I'd Planned

First off, Jono's much better. Thank you for praying. My dad has been able to help by concocting a plan to help him work through his pain, and we are hopeful that he will make a full recovery soon.

I can barely move, though, but it's just because I'm out of shape. I raced around like mad all morning--on foot, pushing Sims in a stroller. I set out to pick up some groceries and came away with a drum, a kite, and Starbucks. It's not what I'd planned, but that's the way things roll around here sometimes. 

The coffee was for me, in honor of four months of continually interrupted sleep. The drum and the kite were for G who was at school (explanation forthcoming) and was the only kid without a drum and a kite because we can't read the notes, written in Turkish, that get sent home. After dropping G off at preschool, one of the few people working at the school who speaks English called me and let me know that I was in imminent danger of breaking the heart of my four year old. So we raced around until we found what was needed, which was no simple task.

When I called and told Jono how I saved the day, his response was, "Great. Now we have a drum." It was said without much enthusiasm, so I don't think he was that excited about it. G is currently on our porch banging away on his new musical toy. We really know how to endear ourselves to our neighbors.

Three weeks ago we decided to put G in preschool three mornings a week. When we arrived in Turkey we quickly noticed that all the children G's age were in school from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.  We were concerned about him becoming isolated and not having an opportunity to make friends and learn Turkish, so we found a school that was willing to take him part-time. We are homeschooling him as well, and the kid LOVES Math. He will be lapping his parents Turkish and Math before long.

Jono and I are plugging away at Turkish as well, but time for studying is limited with three littles running around. Of course, the best way to learn is practice, so we are focusing more on relationships than books.

These pics are in no particular order:

Out with my crew. That's our apt building in the background.

Out for a walk

There are exercise contraptions all over!

Our playground

The little store where we stop to pick up snacks and juice boxes on the way to the park

Action shot

Thinking about rolling over

Two Weeks In

Two weeks into this gig and I'd say we're doing really well. I wrote another blog post last week, but it was laden with jet lag and other disconnected thoughts. I sat with it for a while and decided to put it to rest forever. If you are chomping at the bit to know what I wrote, here's a summary: travel went well, Turkey's beautiful, and we're exhausted!

My dad asked me today what has been the biggest surprise about our move to Turkey. The first thing that came to mind is how little English is spoken here. In most of the countries I've lived and traveled in, the majority of people have spoken at least a little English (ie. Welcome to ______! What's your name? Where are you from?) Not here. We've come across a few English speakers, but we mostly use a lot of hand gestures and play pictionary with folks. Thankfully we have our first Turkish language lesson this morning. 

As for setting up a home, Jono likens it to a do-it-yourself Home Depot project, where something simple requires five trips to the store. Only multiply that by a bajillion (his rough estimate) and throw in language and cultural barriers. We get a little bit done most days.  But it pretty much feels like home already.

Other than the kinks in Lu's sleeping schedule, the kids have adjusted better than we could have imagined.  They find all the cheek pinching a little bit annoying (can't blame them there), and Sims clings to me in taxis ("I don't like bumpy taxis, Mama!"). But the ease with which they've settled into their new house, try new foods, and attempt to speak Turkish (G can count to ten) amazes me. Jono and I have both said several times that we can see everyone's prayers at work in our lives just by watching them adjust.

Moving to Turkey has satisfied a deep longing I have felt for the past couple of years. I used to ache when I'd see pictures or hear stories from the Near/Middle East. It is great to be back in the region and we are excited to make our home here.

Pray for us in the weeks ahead as we start studying Turkish, get our kids settled, and get plugged into the community. Pray especially for Jono's health. He's had constant pain and aches in most of his body since Sunday.  It's also accompanied by terrible hot flashes that make sleep difficult. We have yet to discover a cause and don't have much of a solution, so we are simply asking God to heal him.

Here are some pictures we've taken. If it is so beautiful that you want to visit, we have room for guests!

Enduring jet lag

Around town

Heading west on a day trip

Kemer, about an hour from our home

The Fam

J protecting a nervous Sims from the waves