Leaving On A Jet Plane

Well, it's all done. Today included getting blood drawn from Maya (for blood tests for insurance), a TB test (also for Maya) exchanging the wrong contacts for the right contacts, goodbye lunch with friends, 30 Minute Shred workout, laundry, finishing up the packing and it's finally all done. we leave in an hour and a half for the airport. YIPPEE!! Coming to a neighborhood near you . . .

Two, Which Is Really One

Day two has held tears. This is our sweet friend who helps us in our house each week. She has really become dear to my heart and Maya has wormed her way deep into our friend's heart. Today when we were talking I told her that we would miss her very much and she started crying. Folks here are passionate and emotional, but they will rarely let you seem them show vulnerable moments like this. So special!

Threeeeeeeeeeeeeee is the magic number! (feel free to sing that song in your head now)

Today we need to:

• pay a parking ticket
• pick up dry cleaning
• buy a toilet seat
• go to the bank
• get someone power of attorney on our car
• pick up maya's medical records from the pediatrician
• go to the hospital eye clinic to get a glaucoma test
• go to another bank
• check our post office box
• get a haircut (we both need to do this)
• buy a cover for our car
• finish packing

We've decided to divide and conquer. . .

Four More

Well, we're finally coming down to the wire. Today will be pretty chill. America lost last night to Ghana, so we no longer have anyone to cheer for in the World Cup. Yesterday I wrote that I wished I could fast forward through the next few days. We realized in discussing who would take us to the airport, yesterday that we actually do have one day less than I thought. Our flight leaves at 2 am on Thursday morning, so we're not even really here on Thursday! So four days includes the day when we will actually go to the airport--I got my wish! We knocked off a whole day of waiting!

Seven, Six, Five . . .

Five days until departure day. Matt asked me last night if there is anything I want to do before we leave. In my head I answered, "Fast forward through the next five days!" We still have a few loose ends to tie up. I have to be tested for glaucoma, we still have some clothing to pack, we need to decide which Arabic study materials we will actually study while we're in the States, etc.

Our wonderful Laura who lives with us now came home from a long day yesterday and said she wanted to watch Maya for us so we could go on a date. It's been too long since we went on a date, so we jumped at the chance and had a great time. When we arrived at the mall (where we ate and saw a movie) the place was packed with Brazil football fans! We had forgotten about the game! It was crazy--every restaurant has either multiple big flat screen tv's set up, or a huge screen that they are projecting onto. Many of the people were decked out in their Brazil fan-gear. We caught about the last 8 or so minutes and it ended in a tie. Many, many people from here have immigrated to Brazil, so there is a special connection for the people. No one is really cheering for the U.S. (except us, of course). They play tonight against Ghanna. . . we're pumped! The World Cup is a good distraction from the waiting and the U.S. team has done well this year. I will never start packing 15 days ahead of a trip again! It's way less stress this way, but it just feels like the waiting is longer this way too. But five days! It's really going to fly by fast now! (In Sha Allah!)

Eight Days . . .

Day eight. I don't have a picture b/c my computer doesn't have a card reader and Matt is gone and so is his computer. So I started the below post yesterday because we had a good internet connection, and you can't waste those moments. Little did I know how true her onesie message would be today. "I'm helping my mommy practice FOCUS values." The FOCUS values (if you don't already have them memorized to an army boot camp kind of tune) are: loyalty, integrity, worship, flexibility, trust in God, initiative, servant's heart, team player. I love FOCUS International (and really it's the people that are a part of FOCUS that I love). The values are still posted on my fridge, even though I haven't been on a FOCUS trip in many many years. I love this onesie that the FOCUS folks sent to us this summer.

Today I had a moment where Maya helped me practice a FOCUS value. I won't go into detail, but basically, last night while Matt was feeding her and I was out of the house, he had flicked her cheek when she spit her food at him. I was taken by surprise. I wasn't ready for this stage. For discipline. So then in a conversation today with a friend who has a one year old, she made the point that it's a whole lot easier to mold behavior than to have to un-do something that they've learned to do. So then I'm home alone, feeding Maya and she spits her food. Without really stopping to think, I flicked her cheek and said no in a firm tone. I'm still not convinced it's not too early and that we aren't rushing it a bit, but that is for another post. Right after that she looked at me and her face just fell and she started crying big tears! So I picked her up and held her close and told her I love her--and then the waterworks really started--but it was me! I wasn't prepared at all for how it would feel to hurt her feelings. I also felt insecure about the whole thing possibly being too early and rushing things and I hadn't thought through everything yet. But that's usually how life happens. FAST. Before I've had a chance to think through everything. After I got her calmed down and stopped my own sobbing, I started to think about 2 things: I need to trust in God so much more, in order to know how in the world to properly train up this child (trust in God--a FOCUS value!). The other (and maybe bigger thing) is how much it grieves God when He has to discipline us, but how loving and kind He is to do it. And how when He disciplines us, He is not mad or angry at us afterward, and He doesn't love us any less. Just like I held and kissed and rocked and calmed Maya after my discipline made her cry. Wow, I love this kid so so very much and how much more does a perfect God love me?

Who has time to pack with all of this going on? . . .

Nine Days

Nine is a lot less than ten. I got a lot of folding and choosing and piling done yesterday, but still. Nine. It's a small number! I really cannot believe we will be leaving for the states in nine days. Three years (plus) is a long time to be away from a place. I was daydreaming the other day (actually, let's be honest, I was worrying. I was worrying about airline regulations that exist in other regions and whether or not we need to pack all liquids in our carry-on in a little ziploc bag and whether they have to be under a certain number of ounces, and whether or not you can bring a bottle of water through security with you. We don't worry about these things at our airport here. We're lucky if they actually have the metal detectors turned on. . .) so like I said, I was daydreaming about our trip and as I pondered about whether I could bring a bottle of water with me through security at whatever European airport we will fly through, the thought suddenly hit me--water fountains! We are going to the land of clean and drinkable tap water! And water fountains! I spent several more minutes on that idea. I acted it all out in my head. Packing my empty Nalgene bottle and at the first U.S. airport stopping to fill that whole darn thing up with nice cold water-fountain-water. Then I had this funny thing happen. I questioned whether that water really was safe. And whether we really should be drinking it. And then thought, nah, we'll probably not want Maya drinking that water, we'll probably keep buying bottled water, you never know who has been drinking out of that water fountain. . . Funny, huh? The things we grow to distrust, just because they are not our "normal". Pretty sure there's a good lesson in there about how we treat people who are not "normal". . . but I have to save any more energy for packing!

10 Days

Ten days. Can you believe it? We're almost out of double digits!! Lots of progress yesterday. I was going to take pictures of all of the piles but I need to be working out and showering, not photographing piles. But do notice, I managed to clean off my fridge. It takes me by surprise every time I walk in there now. Shiny. . .

Today will be insane. Our friend Laura, who will be living here while we are gone (and whose awesome parents are loaning us a car for our six months in the states--THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!!) is moving in today. Until we are out of her hair, she will be going from an entire apartment into a small (and already cramped with our stuff) room. Bless her. She is very flexible. She is also very wonderful and sweet and I will miss her a lot (she and I are both introverts and so we poke fun at extroverts together). It will be fun going through the chaos of the next few days together, but today will be crazy. . .

Also, in case you forgot, we have a six month old. Packing is really different with a six month old. You have to pack for them. And you have to try to pack at times that they are feeling independant and happy. And asleep. It's a challenge. . .

Ooh, look. My paragraphs ended with shiny, crazy, challenge. That about sums it up.


Laura and I cheesing it up at the wedding

11 Days

Well, the fact that it has taken me until 5 p.m. to get this post started probably indicates that at least I'm getting a few things done today. Eleven days until wheels up for the U.S. for six months. I've been packing today. Or at least making piles all over my house. It is hard to pack for six months of weather, but we're gonna make it work. With the help of lots of shopping! I'm a bit of an over-planner and over-packer, so I really struggle every time I pack to not over-plan and over-analyze every possible scenario, and then try to pack for it. When I got started this morning, every single room made me want to panic when I walked into it. So I ended up sewing a camel instead. He/she has been on my fridge for at least a year, waiting to be finished for a gift for my niece. And so I chose today to do it. Because it's not really procrastinating if you needed to do it anyway. And clear off the fridge was on the to-do list! Check that one off baby!

The wedding last night was wonderful. Our internet is really slow here and it's especially slow any time but the morning (which is when I usually post) so video and pictures from last night may have to wait. . . but let me just summarize it for you:

1. Hired dancer-drummers
2. Pyrotechnics
3. A sword to cut the cake
4. Ear-damagingly loud music

This wedding had all the Arab-essentials! It was LOUD, fun, and really special to see this favorite family of ours. They are very typical of many people here--confusing and all over the chart as far as their political and religious views. Briefly--they have Palestinian, Shi'ite, Hezbollah, and Communism all in one family. I would say about half of the female guests had their heads covered, but then when we all danced, some of them could give Shakira's shake a run for her money. It was fun to get dressed up and dance and go out. We went to the wrong wedding at first, then realized we were at the wrong building. Then when we got to the right building, we had to find the right room because there had to be at least 5 weddings all happening at once. Maya was good for her babysitters (which was a real relief b/c the last time we left her, she got sick and ended our date about 30 minutes into Robinhood). Other than my shoes rubbed 5 blisters (I'm not even exaggerating!) the night was perfect. My friend Laura went with us and her camera is way better than ours, so maybe I'll get her pictures today and post them tomorrow. For now I will leave you with this . . .

Matt dancing the National dance between the mother and father of the bride.

Electricity is a problem here . . .

Twelve Days

Twelve more days until we leave for the U.S.!

I'm starting to feel like a broken record here. Day thirteen didn't hold as much packing progress as I had hoped. And today we're busy with lots of regular life here things that will take up most of the day, so I don't expect to get a lot done (from the list) today either. But we are planning to attend the wedding of a friend tonight that we are excited about. The bride is the sister of our language teacher. We've become close to the entire family and visited in their home many times, but we haven't seen much of them lately. We are excited that we are going to get to see them all once more before we leave for 6 months and grateful that they've invited us to be present at such an important family event. I thought about taking Maya, but the music that they play at weddings is usually so loud it's hard to even speak over it, and I just kept thinking, "permanent hearing damage," so she's going to go to friends'. They may be upset with us for not bringing her, but she would be a mess by that time of night anyway. The invitation says the wedding starts at 8, but we will probably be awkwardly early if we show up any time before 8:30 or 9. It's not actually a wedding ceremony, they do that in the mosque and it's not something that guests go to. This is like the reception--music, dancing, possibly live drummers and sword dancers, eating, etc. The family has a wide mix of conservative and liberal people. One of the sisters married an American, one of the sisters married a very conservative man who asked that she begin covering her head, and the sister getting married today is marrying a Palestinian. We will give a money gift to the couple by depositing it directly into their bank account (the bank name and their account # come printed on the invitation!). I will try to remember to take lots of pictures and video to post tomorrow. In the mean time, this is what Maya is doing lately--sitting up and chatting!

Thirteen Days

Down to only thirteen days before we leave for the states. . . eeek!

Day fourteen highlights:

• "play date" (i feel really dumb using that term) with our little friend Hannah--lots and lots of cuteness and sharing of toys and giving of kisses

• i still didn't bathe my child, but thankfully her daddy did!

Because that's about all I got done from the list, let's change the subject to my cute child, shall we?

• on Monday her two bottom middle teeth broke through! yipee! hope she's not teething in 13 days while we are on a ridiculously long journey and on many airplanes. . .
  
• on Tuesday she sat in a high chair for the first time--so fitting that it happened in Chili's, while watching the World Cup! The world cup is VERY big here and you know when someone has scored even if your tv is off. Because of the air horns and the fireworks. I love this place. I'm going to miss everyone being so NOISY all the time!

Maya experiencing the high chair for the first time (and enjoying carrots)

Chili's all decked out in World Cup glory and Maya making my favorite face (it's the only time we see her neck).

Maya ignoring us--mesmerized by the players on the big big screen.

Fourteen Days

That's right, folks. If you are not obsessed with looking at blogs like I am and you missed yesterday's post, we are about to leave for the U.S. In fourteen days, to be exact. We're countin' it down, baby! Yesterday was busy and productive, although not really in the way I had hoped. Surprise dinner guests (which were a real encouragement, so I am thankful) took most of the evening, so from about 5 when we met up to about 10 when I collapsed into bed, nothing on "the list" got done, but people are more important than lists (or at least that's what I have to keep telling myself all the time). What did get done was:

• dentist appointment--that's right, I put down my fear of dentists and didn't even panic once! (although I made the mistake of letting Matt go first and the noise of the dental tools made me have to leave the room because I was starting to nervous-sweat) They filled an itty bitty cavity in one of my teeth and aside from feeling at one point like they were using a pressure washer in my mouth, all went well, and quickly-thank the Lord!
• dress shopping--before we went, I was thinking that this was almost as bad as going to the dentist. I do not love my body right now. In spite of weeks and weeks of Jillian Michaels and I spending quality time together, I still have baby body. But on Saturday a friend is getting married and I literally didn't have anything that was appropriate to wear (that I can fit into). Shopping here is challenging. I am amazon-sized compared to these women. I rarely find things here in my size. But God totally provided through a new store that is overstock items from the U.S. at really decent prices and in American sizes. So in less than an hour I was able to find a dress that disguises the midsection, highlights the highlights, and only cost $30! And it's Ralph Lauren!! Hooray! This was truly a gift from a Kind Father!
• packing--i didn't get far, but at least I dragged out our suitcases and trunks and realized we don't have enough luggage. Texted a friend who is loaning us some, and started making piles.
• emptied the vacuum bag--yep, that was actually an item from the to-do list. Then it got all in my hair. But no time to wash it. Gross. Probably wouldn't have stuck in my hair if it hadn't already been kind of dirty. Nice.

Things that probably should have gotten done, but didn't:

• wash my hair?
• give my child a bath (don't turn me in, she's not that dirty)
• wash the dishes from dinner (but my hero of a husband did them all for me this morning)
• lots of other things . . .
  

Tune in tomorrow when I tell you how productive day 14 was . . . hopefully.

The Final Countdown

hello scary fridge. you are on my to-do list. you shall be tamed!

Fifteen. Sounds like a lot. But it's not.

Life over here is about to become life over there. That's right. In a mere 15 days we will be leaving our side of the pond for your side. This is freaking me out. We haven't been outside of the Middle East in more than three years. Three years! Will we be weird? (yes) Will we say strange things? (yes) Will we be too aggressive and stand too close? (yes) Will we be so excited to see all of you? (of course) I am looking forward to soo sooo many things. Mainly meeting new family members (Annalie, look out!) and having family members meet our not-so-new little one (Maya, look out!). But before all of that beauty can happen, we have to pack for six months of living with other people, spending lots of time on the road, visiting lots of folks, and hopefully representing the people here at a meeting place near you! We will pass through 3 seasons, many states, many holidays and birthdays and special events. And we can't pack the kitchen sink. Now please please don't read this in your complaining voice. I am sooooo excited to be coming to America (and really excited that we will get to be there for Independence Day--please mamadon, can't we do something with fireworks and homemade ice-cream? I will make the ice-cream . . . ). And I am so grateful that we are getting time to pack and plan and process--we are not leaving suddenly because of an outbreak of war or an emergency for us or our family. I am truly grateful. As the days draw near my to-do list is getting very long, so I needed a visual reminder of exactly how many days I have left to get it all done. . . and I thought it would be fun if you counted down with me. This countdown calendar I made is the days until we leave. It will still be another month after that before I see my side of the family, so just add 30 days if you're them . . . Now feel free to hum "The Final Countdown" in your head. If you don't know this song, shame on you, and go get it on i-tunes. It's classic.

Six Months Old

I can hardly believe my baby girl is six months old today!! Seriously, how can time move this fast? She is half a year old! She is changing so fast right now and discovering something new each week. I forgot to take her picture with her puppy at five months, but here is the 6 month shot.

She dwarfes her puppy now (and she is sitting up by herself!!!)

She discovered her feet last week--love those fat little legs!

My little rolley poley found her piggies!

She loves to "stand up" these days.

She sometimes has a bit of a strong reaction when I switch from one food to another in one feeding. . .

I love you sweet baby girl! Happy 6 month birthday!