Kitchen Help

Who ever designed our kitchen forgot one little detail: cabinet doors! Elianna is loving it because everything is so accessible for her little hands to grab and explore. Thankfully my friend Reasa helped me arrange our kitchen when we moved-in so that it would be child proof. My mom is making curtains to work as doors, but until those arrive via mail Elianna is having the time of her life (and I'm always out of breath). Thought I would share pictures of my little "helper."

Elianna is leaning on the only cabinet in our kitchen that as doors. Why? Because she knows that Cheerios from grandma are inside. Look at that smile. She can't wait to sink her 2 teeth into them.

Engagement Party

Engagement pictures of Elianna's babysitter.



Last Saturday evening we went to the engagement party of a close friend of ours, Imen. She babysits Elianna during our language lessons and you could say she is Elianna's Arabic teacher. Imen's older sister Manel is our Arabic tutor so we have known the family since we got here (about 3 years). We had a lot of fun and Elianna did great. The party didn't start until 9:00 pm, so she had a very late night. I prayed the whole day that the loud music wouldn't bother her ears and that she would be in a good mood. She totally surprised Justin and I when she actually enjoyed the music and even tried to dance "baby style." Kids are so much more resilient than we think. She totally acted like everything was normal. You can see the engaged couple below and listen to the traditional music from the live band. It's amazing they have a huge party like this for just the engagement. The poor couple "to be" just sit on a platform the whole night while people dance and look at them. It would feel a little awkward to me, but that is tradition. Typically the "groom-to-be" brings the engagement ring and a few other gifts to the bride and her family during this party. Hope you enjoy the video and get a little taste of the culture we live and work in. This time next year we will be posting pictures of their wedding.

Processing Life

Not sure if copy right laws apply to blogs or not, but I just can't help putting a couple paragraphs from my friend Reasa's blog on here. We have been processing life together and I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have a fellow friend and mother to process with. Here is what we have been working through lately. (Side note: Reasa's husband is Jon) :

"Lately I have been stressing myself out and I couldn't really figure out why. I tried to put it all into words the other night while I was talking to Jon. It really came down to figuring out who I am here in this place. Thankfully, Jesus provided my friend Veronica and I with some time to take a walk with the kids yesterday (in the heat of the day! what were we thinking?!). After chatting awhile we figured out we were both struggling with some of the same emotions. One being guilt. I remembered something I heard from our friend Phil when he and his wife visited this Spring. He said (well, what I heard him saying anyways!) was in order to truly be authentic you have to keep the gap closed between who you know you are and who people think you are. That is why I started this blog back then...in hopes of keeping this gap closed. I don't want my friends and family back in America to think I am something I am not. And when I feel like I haven't clearly communicated who I really am and what I am doing here then I allow myself to feel guilty...like shouldn't I be able to learn a new language, build relationships with nationals, have good relationships with Americans here, keep a clean house, never have dishes in the sink, stay on top of relationships back in America, grow in the Lord, take care of my husband and my 2 children, exercise & eat right, cook healthy meals, read books about parenting, get out of my house, and get 2 loads of laundry done a day (without a dryer)?? I mean, really, what is wrong with me??!! I guess I finally came to the conclusion I can't get all of these things done perfectly :) Are any of you surprised? :) I didn't think so!

Phil shared Hebrews 3:12-14 with us when he was talking about being authentic and also the importance of encouraging one another. Authenticity and encouragement are what help us choose Him over sin. I had never really put that together when reading these verses before. But now it makes perfect sense to me why I need other people and why I need to allow people to see the real me. It produces unity, harmony, and is praise to the Lord (Romans 15:7). And it helps me put aside my own fleshly desires & reactions (like grabbing the chocolate when the ants start coming in through my cabinets).

Jon used this verse to encourage me the other night. Maybe it can also encourage you today...leave the dishes in the sink, forget about the dirty floor and all the demands that come with raising small people...b/c when we know Jesus, we have everything we need already :)

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." 2 Peter 1:3

I am so thankful that what I need to be doing most of all is just knowing Jesus."

Veronica here: Can I get an amen to this insightful work of blog theology? Yes, I am totally blessed to have friends around me who love the Lord more than anything else this world has to offer; even things in Africa like cheap amusement parks. I'm not really sure what people think about us living in Africa. About what our life is like and the challenges we face or don't face. All I know is that my life feels pretty simple right now. I'm a stay-at-home mother of a cute 9 month old who is trying her best to love her husband and love those around her. Some days that role is easier than others. What I want more than anything else is authentic relationships with my friends and family so that the stress of being someone I'm not will vanish and I can just be me. The unglamorous, simple, yet fun loving (wink) woman God is creating me to be. Stay tuned into this blog for even more insightful words of wisdom from Reasa-- as soon as we are able to find time to walk together and process more. First it is discovering the value of being vunerable and authentic, next we will tackle world hunger and euthanasia. Well, more like the best cure for diaper rash, but that's is interesting too...right?

More Birthday Pictures

So this is the 3rd time I've tried to upload these pictures. Our internet has been really slow lately, so hopefully it will work this time. Here are a few more pictures from the birthday party. My favorite is the one of Elianna smiling at Jakin while he is crying his head off. Hey, it's his party so he can cry if he wants to. Maybe Elianna needs a few more lessons on how to be compassionate and to mourn with those who mourn. Don't babies come out knowing this stuff already? I know, we just forgot to install the "compassion" computer program into her system. Guess we have to pay extra for that :).

Birthday Party

You might be thinking, "Are you guys in Walt Disney world?" No, but it is not far from being a very small version of it. This is a video taken at a local kids amusement park. Elianna's friend Jakin turned one on Aug. 30th so she was able to go to his 1st Birthday Party. We had cake and ice cream at the birthday boy's house and then off we went to the amusement park. There were 8 kids at the party--four years old and younger. Can you imagine? It actually wasn't total chaos and the kids had a ball together. The grown-ups had fun too as you can see Justin is really enjoying taking his daughter on the rides. The neat part about going to a amusement park in North Africa is that it is free to get in and you will only spend about $5-10 dollars on the whole evening. I consider this one of the many perks of living overseas. Guess what? This park is all year around, so guess where we will be going for Elianna's 1st birtday party? You got it--the local amusement park. Justin's mom will be visiting us during that time so she will get to enjoy a little amusement park action too. Gotta love birthday parties! I'm still in shock that this place actually exists over here. Ahhhh, it feels like a little piece of home.

First Tooth

Elianna has a tooth! Now she can chomp away at all the "real" food. She just tried pizza for the first time last week and really likes it. She is already taking after her father :). All you can see in this picture is a little bump, but we promise it is really there. Now the tooth beside it is popping up too. Oh the joys of being a parent. It doesn't take much to get us excited about our kids.

I just got this email from my friend Kristie. She has 2 little boys (2 and 4 years old). Her email said, "Kaedren said the funniest thing today! He asked how many teeth Elianna had.
We told him "one." He wanted her to be able to eat real food so he said (in
a very sincere tone), "She can borrow my silly teeth" (the hillbilly ones we
bought at Walmart!). What a great idea!" Kids are so thoughtful. Well Kaedren, we might take you up on that offer.

Home Tour

Here is a tour of our home. Since not many of you would be able to make a "welcome to our new home" party, we thought a video might help. We haven't completely unpacked yet, but we are getting really close. This house is such a blessing. We will have plenty of room to host visitors, raise a family, and create a refuge for friends who might stop by. Now, we just have to let the land lord know that she can't kick us out any time soon. We welcome all who want to come for a visit. We've got a guest room waiting for you and dinner is on us!