Swim Cap Cutie

Guess who has to have a swim cap for school? This is a first...

Must. Filter. (What is The Point? Part I)

Do you ever feel overwhelmed and bombarded by the thousands of messages that hit your eyes and ears everyday? Through social media, music, books, podcasts, conversations, advertisements and more?

I do.

There is just so dang much information out there. All of it has to be sifted, weighed, considered. Sometimes it feels like too much and I feel myself getting confused, distracted.

Am I supposed to be a minimalist, or believe God for abundance in all areas? Am I supposed to deny myself or enjoy the gifts God has given me? I should focus on my fitness, my diet, my health. I should focus on my children and find my fulfillment in my calling inside my home. I should focus on my personal abilities and ambitions, and what I can contribute outside my home. I should plan and cook organic from scratch meals. I should order pre-prepared food to save time. I should give my children freedom in all things. I should insist on my children’s routines and manners and unquestioning obedience. I should share my life and faith with friends.  I’m supposed to do. I’m supposed to be. I’m supposed to pour my life out. I’m supposed to have boundaries and say ‘no’. I’m supposed to know the right clothes to buy for my body type. I’m supposed to not care about what I wear. I should know my personality type and learn all about who God made me deep inside. I should get my eyes off myself and get them on Jesus and others around me.

Oh. My. Word.

It’s just too much.

I think we agree it’s overwhelming. There is valuable insight to be learned through online programs. There is new research everyday about health and parenting and the headlines show up in our faces. So many people online have a message they want to share, encouragements to offer, affirmations to pour on Mommies, Bible reading programs that work. Even me, I’m writing on this public blog! Is much of it good? YES. But there is just SO SO MUCH.

All of those statements three paragraphs up have truth in them for different people at different times. And it’s about moderation, right? I totally believe that. I believe in seasons, I believe in different lessons and callings and focuses for different people. I love learning about what clothing makes me feel good. I love getting rid of things, and I love getting new things too. I could go on and on…

The problem is this: we are hearing ALL of these messages ALL THE TIME because there is just so much dang information and so much sharing happened in our faces all day everyday.

Do you know what I mean?

It’s getting harder and harder to know what is for me IN MY CURRENT SEASON. We are seeing everyone else in their season. And what they are doing just looks so perfect. Even though they are saying ‘It’s not perfect’ and ‘Be who you are’… we still find ourselves wanting to be that. Then we see someone else in a different season and it looks like just the right thing so then we wanna do that. They are all saying ‘This is just me in this season’… but it’s still looking pretty darn good on them and we want that too. So we are just trying to do IT ALL. Or feeling confused because we literally can’t, even though people on social media seem like they are doing it all with excellence.

I know social media isn’t a true picture of a person’s life.

And I know I am not them.

But still.

Ugh.

Must. Filter.

But sometimes my filter gets so clogged.

And I get confused.

I find myself needing to scrub my filter back to it’s original state. To remove all the gunk that's built up.

I want a freshly scrubbed filter.

I want the messages coming at me to run quickly and fresh and clean through the filter before they come into my heart and my mind.

To clean my filter, (which I didn’t even realize I was trying to do) I’ve been asking myself…

What is the actual purpose? What is important? What are my goals? What am I doing? There are so many things screaming ‘I’M IMPORTANT’ in my face everyday that I’m starting to notice how many voices there actually are.

And I find myself saying back…

“It can’t ALL be important.”

“It can’t ALL be the POINT.”

“Like, the ACTUAL POINT.”

So, this is where my brain has been lately. It’s a deep place, I’ll admit.

…to be continued…

Proud of Him (First Day, New School)

Today this boy heads off for his first day. He makes my heart burst. I know that we have extra long summers because of how late school starts here, but even so, i actually wasn't so anxious to send them all off this fall. Am I happy to have a little time to get back to some things that I can't do with four kids in the house? Yes! But also, I enjoy my kids so much and part of me wants to keep them with me and not send them away...

Farming Simulator, Who Knew?

I'm not feeling great, and so I've been on the couch all day watching this dude play Farming Simulator 2015, which I didn't even know existed until a couple weeks ago. Today we learned how to download and install mods. This kid is a delight and it's so fun to learn things with him and see him take off! Tomorrow he will have his turn at the first day of school at the new school. But today is all about him, me, and farming. 👦🏼👩🏼🚜❤️

Strong and Courageous (First Day, New School)

She is strong and courageous. And today is her first day at a new school. I'm so stinkin' proud to be her Mama.

Stuck in the Elevator?

That time all 6 of us got stuck between floors in a tiny elevator. Ha!

She's Off to KG1!

This precious grin was replaced by tears as I dropped her off for her first day of KG1. I know she'll be fine, and soon thrive. But that dropoff was THE WORST. How to walk away from your wailing child and leave her in a class where she is the only non-local? She's brave, I know that. And I just love her so. 2:10 can't come soon enough!

After-Nap Snuggles

After-nap snuggles are the best.

The Nerve

 

Still nursing this little guy one time a day, before bed. And here he has the nerve to kick me in the face?

Catchin' the Rain...

Flashback to this summer when my little man was happy catching the rain...

She Takes Care of Him

This morning my girlie got up and got ready for the day without being asked. Then she got her crying brother out of his crib, read to him on the couch, then took him to his high chair and gave him his breakfast just like I do it. She takes such good care of him and she makes my heart burst!

New Fav Spot

New favorite spot in the house: hammock swing. This thing is great for apartment dwellers. Kids can swing around and go crazy on it! Or relax and read. So happy about this decision!

The First Time Joy of School Supplies

This girlie just HAPPENS to also love getting her school supplies altogether! Such fun with her today. She starts KG1 in a week or two. (Kindergarten is two years here, and they don't tell you when school starts much ahead of time.) 💗

A New Language for School Supplies

When we moved here, we very quickly put our children in local school. Every single thing about it was new for us and the learning curve was steep for everyone. 

The kids were AMAZING. There were only 2 other foreign children in the entire school, and Arabic was spoken almost the entire day. My children are inspiring.

While they were at school being stretched and making new friends and expanding their minds with a new language and new culture and maybe wondering why their parents had chosen this for them... I was at the store slamming MY head against the wall trying to decipher their school supply lists!

Okay, the list above wasn't too bad. At least it was written in English!

Later on, I was given lists like this. In Arabic! (I cannot read Arabic). 

First I had to try to translate the words. To do this, I would either use google translate's photo option (a recent wonder) which meant I had all kinds of photos like this...

...to try to get Google to translate only the exact line I was trying to decipher at the time. I couldn't even tell when one item was stopped being listed and the next one started! It was maddening.

Translation via Google:

" Green switcher for chairs, transparent book switcher with tick placed on tools"

Okay. Thanks for nothing.

Even Google doesn't understand school supplies here, I guess I feel better?

I also sent my weird photos like this and around to all sorts of  my local friends to get their interpretation of that certain line. I didn't want to overwhelm any one friend with all of my school supply woes, so I spread the love...

This says "2 matching two-color thin satin tie-reel. One meter cloth with a kitchen cloth"

huh. I'm stumped. 

Google translate also translates the same thing

"Jabra thin strips of two harmonious colors. Meter cloth UVFT kitchen apron (esf).

and

"Meter canvas UPVC Bib Laskey Kitchen"

Sooooo, yeah, this took me awhile.

Once I feel like I had the right translations (2 spools of ribbon, different colors and a roll of plastic table cover I eventually deciphered), then I had to try to figure out what those items actually ARE and where to find them! School supplies are very different here than in the U.S. Especially the notebooks. 

Squares. 30 pages. 60. 90. Thin lines. Fat lines. 9 lines. Big squares. Little squares. Spiral. Copybook. A4 size. Other sizes.

Then there are the files. Files are instead of folders. Zipper ones. Flap ones. Snap ones. All colors... A4, A5, B2, F9, I have no idea. 

And notebooks and copybooks have to have colored plastic covers. Of the correct size. Colored covers must match the colors of the files, each color to it's own subject.

Then there was the ribbons and specific paints and a certain kind of clay and an apron and a plastic plate and certain pencils and a lab coat and and and.

This says "White Sketch & Canson Sheet, One color, any color"

Uhhhhh what?

AFTER I had what I felt like would be the best translated list I could come up with, then I headed to the store, which was an entire different story. Luckily, the sales people here are usually the most helpful, and they are so patient and kind with me. I slowly crossed things off my list and my basket grew more full. Eventually I headed home to sort it all out!

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

In the end, I learned so much. Now I adore the stationary stores here... they're the best! I've come a long way. And throw any school supply list at me and I can handle it!

And, they love gathering their supplies just as much as their Mama always did when she was little...

 (No supplies for this one yet, but she loved it for the big kids!)

She Braids!

My girlie can braid my hair! So proud of how hard she works!

My Littlest Man

Just a few of my favs from summer in the country. My baby is becoming a little boy!

The Love of Cheeseball, Continued…

As previous generations have always done… (okay, okay, maybe just siblings before), Mister B loved him some cheeseball this summer! Cheeseball has traditionally been a special appetizer for family gatherings at holidays… buuuuut since we aren’t really in the U.S. for Thanksgiving or Christmas that doesn’t work.

So Grandma makes cheeseball for any ol’ occasion through the summer.

No one complains.

Especially my children (and their father) who can easily polish off an entire cheeseball in an evening.

It’s been a family pastime to watch the littlest family member really dig into the cheeseball, as you can see here.

This summer was no different as Mister B finally had a go!

His particular way of eating cheesball was to load up a cracker, lick the cheese off the cracker and load up the cracker again. I mean, why fill a tummy with a Ritz when you could save space for more CHEESEBALL.

Can this be considered some sort of double dipping? I’m not sure…