Terrible Twos and a time to reflect

The past few weeks a been full of activity.  Extra work at school, which included a cultural festival and successful IB visit.  I've been so pleased with my students and the growth they've made this year.  At home the terrible twos have set in, which means a lot of tears and tantrums.  Linus turned two in February.  I knew it was wearing me down, but didn't realize how it was affecting the big brothers until Teddy Bear made a sign and taped it to the door of the room where he was building a race car set.  The two is backwards, but the message is clear.  "No two-year-olds allowed!"  After a pic of the sign is a pic of Linus, doing two of his favorite things, climbing and wearing his spongebob jammies. 

This week we're finally on spring break. I'm definitely due for a week of rest and reflection.

These words certainly remind me of what this week is all about.

How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
And make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the man upon the cross
My sin upon His shoulder
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Thankful for my adorable children, and even more thankful for the cross, immeasurable grace.

~ Um Tulip

Happy Birthday, Spongebob

My two year old is now singing Happy Birthday to Spongebob.  Teddy Bear turned 5 this week and today was his Spongebob themed party.  A good friend helped me make marshmallow fondant and we made the most amazing cake.  I will never be able to top this cake, no matter how many more birthday parties I throw over the years.

One thing I love about Teddy Bear is how fun and at-ease he is with people of all nationalities.  He has a knack for Arabic, and is a total boy. He's enthralled with light sabers, and his BFF bought him one for his birthday.  The kids had a blast tearing through the house playing today. His invite list for his birthday party included people from six countries.  Not a single child that came to today was 100% American, most were 50% this and 50% that.  I guess at times I feel more comfortable with an international crowds.  Abu Tulip has a scholarship to do some graduate study in the States next fall, and I'm worried about fitting in there.  I love our international life, and the amazing people I meet on a daily basis.

Here is the cake, before and after the party.

  Happy Birthday to my sweet 5 year old.

    ~ Um Tulip

Contradictions - or why I love living here.

Since it's blog about my adopted country day and I have a huge to-do list today to catch up on life, I'm just going to link to a friend's blog.  To peak your interest, the title is: Nuns....bikinis....camels....and my husband.

Life here is full of contradictions, and that's one of the reasons I love it.  I love the mash of cultures and beliefs and the way we all live out our faith, whether we think we are or not. 

Mammabean also posts her reasons to love it here.

I love that I can teach English at an Arabic school and be confident my three boys are getting an excellent bilingual / bi-cultural education, then head downtown to barter for curtain fabric and head to the western part of the city to sip a latte with my mother-in-law at Crumbs cafe. Then end the day with a choir practicing both traditional folkloric music and Mozart's Requiem.   The day is sprinkled with two languages, laughter and more serious discussions of faith and politics in a region full of turmoil.  I'm so thankful to be part of it all.  And that all happened just last Monday.

We said good-bye to my mother-in-law Thursday evening.  I can't write about it much now, because I miss her so dearly and my post would just be weepy.

That and I really need to catch up on stuff around the house.

~ Um Tulip

Star Wars storms our home

Those of you with boys in the house probably know that Lego Star Wars is really cool.  I had R2D2 underwear as a child, but not until recently did I realize the reprisal of Star Wars.  Teddy Bear very proudly talks about Dark Vader, Light Savers, and the Storm Creatures.  He also likes the "Teddy Bears that jump up and down a lot"  (aka Ewoks).  Isn't he adorable?

I had a lot of fun shopping at the Lego store in Columbus last month, and got all sorts of figurines and special pieces.  Then I happened to walk buy a high-end cooking supply store and saw Star Wars pancake molds in the store-front.  I couldn't resist.  Here are the results.

If you spray the pancake molds with non-stick spray (what is that stuff made out of anyway?) they pop out okay.   I want to do sugar cookies soon.  They were a huge hit.  The black / red / yellow lego structure is the "bad guys spaceship" and is shaped like a slice of pizza.  It is on a hinge to open up sideways.  The blue / white / grey structure is the colors the boys chose for the "good guys spaceship" and has a rooftop that opens to access the computer and stash of light sabers.  The only question that remains is: who had more fun building the lego spaceships - me or the boys?

God looks after the little things.

Recently Abu Tulip and I were talking about how insignificant our lives really are, considering the population of the earth and the conflicts befalling nations surrounding us.  Yet it is at times comical how important the tiniest details matter to us personally on a daily basis.  We are told God knows the number of hairs on our head.  Although I am confident in my faith, I am still surprised at little miracles such as this morning.

Last night we went out to a restaurant for dinner.  Abu Tulip just left for a work conference, and my mother-in-law and I are holding down the fort.  It was a lovely "date night".  Seafood ravioli.  Yum.  Afterward we stopped at an ATM to make sure we had enough cash for the week.  The ATM was poorly lit, and as Abu Tulip opened his wallet a few things fell out.  I bent down and found a credit card and a receipt.  I didn't notice anything else around.

This morning we were heading out our road for Abu Tulip to drop us off at school and then return to finish packing his suitcase.  As we pulled out, we noticed our neighbor waving frantically at us from the car behind.  We pulled over and Z came up.  "How's it going?" we asked.

Z is a young shab who is loads of fun and his mom makes the best maqloubi I've ever had.  I learned a lot of Arabic from this family and they are dear friends.  "Well," Z said, "my buddies and I were out last night and we stopped at an ATM.  My friend found this credit card and showed it to me.  It's yours!  So here you go."

Dumbstruck, we headed on our way to school, marveling at God's intervention in our lives.  That the lost card would be found by a good friend is beyond me.  Had it been stolen, a lot of damage would have taken place before we would have ever noticed, especially with Abu Tulip traveling this week.

I guess I needed to be reminded of His care and concern.  Thank you, Lord.

~ Um Tulip

A few pics for now.

Still working on editing some photos and forming those posts.  For now....can you name where this one was taken?  Do you have any idea what "Best without taste" means?

This one is of a family restroom at a nice hotel.  Again, what were they thinking!  As a mom of three boys, I have been in this situation before and let me tell you, I nearly wet myself the first time I saw this sign.

This is just a shot of the lovely fabric my MIL and I got downtown for a great price.  She's been busy this week making curtains for our living room.  They are beautiful!

Teddy Bear made this valentine for us last week.  I edited out the name of his best friend for privacy's sake, but I think it's adorable.
 More to follow.  ~ Um Tulip

My Valentine's Day Song

I've been back from the states a couple weeks now, and have formed about 20 blog posts in my mind.  However, we've been too busy getting back into school and then fabric shopping and choir rehearsals that I haven't actually posted anything.

Linus turned two, and the terrible twos are well underway.  Pics of Elmo cupcakes need to be posted.

The pictures of our star wars pancake morning are ready to post, too, as soon as I load them.

For now, as I need to get back to the kiddos, I'll leave you with my current favorite song.  We ordered the CD "Counting Stars" by Andrew Peterson off Amazon.  Yes, we have yet to switch over to downloading MP3s.  I can't get through the song "Dancing in the Minefields" without tears. 

Valentine's Day was busy with work and choir so we didn't really celebrate, but this song reminds me why I married my best friend and I'm so thankful for the choice we made, now 10 1/2 years ago.

----------------------------------------------------

I was nineteen, you were twenty-one
The year we got engaged
Everyone said we were much too young
But we did it anyway

We bought our rings for forty each
From a pawn shop down the road
We made our vows and took the leap
Now fifteen years ago

We went dancing in the minefields
We went sailing in the storm
And it was harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for

"I do" are the two most famous last words
The beginning of the end
But to lose your life for another I've heard
Is a good place to begin

'Cause the only way to find your life
Is to lay your own life down
And I believe it's an easy price
For the life that we have found

And we're dancing in the minefields
We're sailing in the storm
This is harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for

So when I lose my way, find me
When I loose love's chains, bind me
At the end of all my faith, till the end of all my days
When I forget my name, remind me

'Cause we bear the light of the Son of Man
So there's nothing left to fear
So I'll walk with you in the shadowlands
Till the shadows disappear

'Cause he promised not to leave us
And his promises are true
So in the face of all this chaos, baby,
I can dance with you

Dancing in the Minefields

~ Um Tulip