Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a quiet and enjoyable day and hope yours was good too.  During the month of November, we made a thankful tree. Each night someone talked about something they are thankful for, and here is the blooming thankful tree. I am so thankful for these three, amongst many other things!

We are also very thankful for Kadem, our new nanny. Kadem has been working with our family since mid September. She is such a kind and patient woman and she is great with the kids. This is her younger daughter, Ebru, who sometimes comes with her to play with the kids. She and her husband also have an older daughter, Ezgi, that lives near the Syrian border, and she is working as an economist. 

With the new COVID restrictions, kids under 20 are allowed outside between 1-4pm each day, so we take advantage of it. This day we went to the forest behind our neighborhood to play, walk around, and Nathan took the boys for a run on one of his loops.

For dinner I cooked a small brown sugar maple syrup ham in the crock pot, mashed sweet potatoes, mixed veggies, and pumpkin pie. Simple and delicious.

We are so thankful for all of God’s blessings and faithfulness, and we pray you all had a wonderful holiday too!

School Conferences and Updates

We recently had  parent-teacher conferences at the boys’ school. We arrived at school early so the boys could give us a tour of the playground, library, cafeteria, and snack bar before heading to their classes. 

The boys love visiting the library and the librarian let them each check out a book while we were there.

Both boys received great reports from their teachers. They are both doing well academically, they have made friends with the kids in their classes, and their teachers have enjoyed getting to know them.  We celebrated their accomplishments with simit (a turkish bread with sesame seeds on top), coffee, and juice from the snack bar afterwards. 

The boys have been such troopers this year. They started the first 7 weeks of school online, then they were able to start going to school twice a week. They loved meeting new friends and attending school in-person. The school arranged a schedule so half of the grades attended in-person twice a week (only grades K-5 were permitted to attend at this time), and the other half of the class attended the other two other days, with Friday being an online day for the entire school.  Attending part-time in person lasted for a month before the COVID cases here, like everywhere else in the world, began rising significantly and the Turkish government returned school to online until at least the remainder of the calendar year. Despite the challenges of moving to a new country in the midst of a pandemic, we are thankful for how well the boys are adjusting and how flexible and resilient they are. We are so proud of them.

Well Checks

The kids all had their annual well-check ups and everyone had a good report! The first day Caleb and Benjamin went for their appointments. Both boys are growing well. Caleb is about 50lbs and 50.5 inches tall. Benjamin is about 52lbs and 51 inches tall. 

The doctor’s office is across the street from a nice park downtown, so after appointments we went to play and for some Turkish treats -  fried köfte, tea, and dondurma, the Turkish name for ice cream.

Another day, Eliza had her appointment. She was excited to get into taxicab to go. She also had a great appointment, weighing in at almost 30lbs and 37 inches.

Playing at the park and running through the birds :).

Yummy, ice cream!

Thankful that everyone is healthy and praying we all remain healthy during this season.

 

Ulus

A couple of weeks ago we took the boys to the old part of Ankara, called Ulus, to see the Ankara Castle and walk around. The old city is quaint with cobblestone narrow winding roads and small shops. 

After walking through some streets, we got to the caste. It was small, this was was pretty much it. We walked along the top and enjoyed a panoramic view of the city.

Next, we went to an art shop to look at paintings. Talking to the owner, it turned out the store was part of the Russian federation of artists. After buying a painting from the store, he offered to take us to a house down the street that sells Russian paintings. The painters were trained as artists in Russia and then immigrated to Turkey after the fall of the Soviet Union. Many of the artists were in their 80’s now, and some are still living in Turkey. The government required the shop close for some reason in March due to COVID, so we were the only people there. It was a very interesting place to visit. He said the house was decorated in typical Russian style. There were very ornate and shiny gold decorations around the house, used as stairwell oranaments, and along the ceilings. The walls and ceilings were painted very brightly in shades of reds, blues, and greens. About halfway through the tour,  he told me I could take pictures. It was fascinating.

We went to the roof of the house for another great view of the city. He pointed out a prominent restaurant next door that world political leaders visit when they come to Ankara. 

Afterwards, we indulged in a Turkish breakfast. Lots of bread, meat, cheese, and dips. It was delicious.

Our last stop was to a wood shop. The owner buys old doors from around the country, and he makes them into furniture. We are considering having end-tables made from the panels of these doors from Cappadocia  that are about 100 years old.

It was a fun day exploring downtown!

Around the hood

 We are loving the fall weather and changing colors! I never get tired of the view from our kitchen.

We enjoy playing outside everyday and are so thankful for all the space and parks our neighborhood provides.

The boys are good helpers with Eliza. Caleb is helping her across the little stream. She adores her big brothers.

This is what we call the sand playground, for obvious reasons.

This girl loves to play with her shoes off, even when it is cold!

She has a baby in her belly...or a basketball.

On the weekends, Nathan goes for a run in the forest across the street. One morning when the kids had school and he had the day off,  we went out together and he showed me the trails. Look how pretty this is!

I am really glad Nathan found a peaceful place to run that is so close to our house. 

On the mornings we have home school, the kids and I go for a run before we start the day.

Caleb wanted to wear his Halloween costume one morning to run...why not?

Caleb loves a nearby bookstore called Arkadas. He found a new comic book series called Fairy Tale that he likes reading.

The same bookstore opened up in another nearby mall too!

Oh, how I love all the extra time with these three :).

Caves and Canyons

 The last full day we drove to Karabuk province to see a cave and canyon. Of course the day started with these adorable little puppies!

Breakfast was a delicious spread of various Turkish breads, egg dishes, veggies, and dips.

The first stop was the town of Safranbolu, to visit the Bulak Mencilis Caves.

The drive to the caves took us through a very small town. It was neat to see the traditional homes and cobblestone roads.

Then the road got progressively smaller and turned into a dirt road. You can’t tell from the picture, but our vehicle took up most the road. We ended up driving several miles down the dirt road, and the last 500m away from where the caves supposedly where, we came across a very large and deep mud puddle. After assessing that our vehicle would not make it through without getting stuck, Nathan did some fancy turning maneuvers, and we drove out the way we entered. We found the main highway and shortly after arrived at the caves. Nathan got the MVP driving award for this trek.

The caves were about 10km north of town. They are 6km long and about 400m of the caves is open to the public.

We walked up a lot of stairs to get to the entrance. Eliza was a great walker!

There was a cafe at the top to get soft drinks, coffee, and tea.

Then we climbed more steps before entering the caves.

View from the cave entrance.

The caves were impressive and very large.The kids enjoyed seeing all the stalactites and stalagmites.

Our next stop was the Tokatli canyon in the town of Karabuk. The colors were vibrant and rock formations were rugged and interesting shapes. There was a glass platform where you can stand over the canyon and a zip line across the canyon. The boys really wanted to do the zip line, but they were about 15 pounds too light.

People are really good about wearing masks and following the rules here.

Rule breakers!

Afterwards, we ate at a restaurant overlooking the canyon, then the boys played a balloon shooting game. A light rain started so we started the about two hour drive back to the cabin.

When we arrived, the kids played outside (and of course with the puppies) while we got packed up to leave the next morning. 

Here is a quick tour of the cabin. The bottom level had a couple of couches, small fridge, and a bathroom.

Behind the couch was stairs leading up to the loft. 

There was one king bed and two twin beds upstairs.

The kids enjoyed all sleeping together.

We all had a great time and we loved exploring all the new places. 

It was a little over 2 hour drive to get home, and we made it back to Ankara mid-day. We are thankful for another opportunity to explore this beautiful country together.