Author Archives: Chase & Britt
hello.
just wanted to say a quick hello and let you know we are still alive, I am still taking a picture a day for my 365 (actually 366- cuz of leap year- I need to change my title…), we are still plugging along in our Arabic studies, and we just had a wonderful visit from Chase’s parents! I think I took over 1200 pictures since the day the arrived… lots of editing & deleting to do! We did a lot of things, covered a lot of miles around the country and saw lots of new things. I look forward to slowly sharing them with you all.. once we catch up on rest! I feel like I could sleep for 2 weeks!
I also wanted to update about my homesickness… I am feeling a bit better- it was a huge help to have Glenda & Cecil here- a bit of home- to get to be in “big cities” with lots of yummy choices for food and to have a short break from school. I of course still miss home, family & friends and look forward to our next visit home, but I am seeing things more positively here and look forward to getting back into a routine of studying, visiting and life here.
Hope to have many updates for you soon!
February 27- March 5
February 27: Package Day! I love getting “snail mail” and even though it takes about 3 weeks to get to us it is totally worth the wait! Great package from my momma!
February 28: Couldn’t resist taking a picture of Sayla and her sweet ballerina bun head! Love that these girls get to be in my class this year.
February 29: One of my local friends just moved into a new apartment & I went to visit her the other night. She was so proud of the new decorations her sister put up on the walls! They love their wall stickers here.
March 1: Birthday celebration with sweet friends!
March 2: The in-laws flew across the seas to come see us in the desert! It has been such a great visit with lots of hugs, good food, & adventures showing them where we live.
March 3: Walking around Dubai checking out all the huge malls.
March 4: Chase’s pop welcoming us back from school.
March 5: After lunch tea at a new local restaurant- Iraqi food…. pretty tasty!
February 19 – February 26
February 19: My mixer broke at Christmas and we haven’t replaced it yet, I was wanting homemade chocolate chip cookies, but told Chase I couldn’t make them without a mixer- so being the sweet husband that he is, he decided to make me some- his first time to make them from scratch! (and yes he proved me wrong that one can indeed make them without a mixer 🙂 – bummer I am trying to show him I need a Kitchen Aid!)
February 20: Some of the lovely things you can purchase at our local stores 🙂
February 21: Yummy Fatoush Salad at one of our favorite local restaurants!
February 22: You know the cool Henna designs that I get on my hands sometimes? This is the plant they get the Henna from!
February 23: Evie turned One so Jord threw a Pancakes & Pajamas Party for her- so fun! Here are the big sisters helping out with the baking.
February 24: sweet snuggles with Uncle Chase!
February 25: It was late and I hadn’t taken a picture yet- so this is what you get- a poorly lit picture of my feet in desperate need of a pedicure!
February 26: Started this book… read it for two days & haven’t picked it up again– I think it is a must read, but maybe not now- we’ll see?
pushing through
Homesickness…
Lately, I am not gonna lie, I have had a bit of a rough time living out here. I am sure it is for several reasons- one we have been living here for a little over a year now- so I may be having some culture strain that happens over time, I miss my family, no matter if I love everything about living here there is still always something missing- my family… We are in 3rd semester Arabic study, which one would think it would all “be clicking” by now, some days yes, but other days, not so much.. I still feel like a 3 year old child trying to communicate much of the time… the slow & steady win the race right? There could be several other reasons as well, but all this to say, it has been a tough few weeks…. I have just mainly wanted to lay on the couch and watch TV & not be around people- which for me is totally out of character!
Today I had tea with a sweet friend who has lived cross-culturally for much of her life, she was a breath of fresh air. She told me that it is totally normal to feel this way- that I need to just find some things for a little while that help me sustain life out here (since we don’t have plans to return to the states until Christmas… gosh that seems so far away!). She suggested I do things that make me feel like an American- go to the “bigger” cities and sit at a coffee shop without a long sleeve jacket on, walk around the mall, eat baskin robins, go swimming… plan “small trips” each weekend to get out of our small village like town to spread my wings, plan mid- week adventures to the desert or wadis, sit outside and read with my favorite cold drink & get vitamin D in my system, plant some flowers… gosh these things sounded like music to my ears! I think it is just what I need for a little bit to get my spirits back up. I know that I also need to be pressing into the Lord & looking to Him for strength & guidance in this time as well. And I want to do this. But so much of me just wants to be “American” for a bit! I am so glad to have heard this from my friend- that it is o.k. and normal! I will let you know how this season (hoping short) goes…
On a positive note…
Chase’s mom & dad are coming to visit us for a few weeks on Friday!! I am super excited to see them & show them where we live & I think seeing them will help me “feel more like home” as well. And we received such a fun package from my mom today! It had all sorts of things that I love in it- including green chile sauce & new delicious hot tea to drink! It came at perfect timing. Next week we have a few days off from school which will allow us to do some traveling around the country with Chase’s parents! I am excited for that.
February 10 – February 18
February 10: putting my feet up after our first week of 3rd semester Arabic
February 11: movie & popcorn for Kead & Sayla at Aunt Britt & Uncle Chase’s house!
February 12: laundry- oh how I miss having a dryer!
February 13: cookout with friends which included roasted green chile- yum
February 14: Happy Valentine’s Day! We had an all pink & red meal with the Remkes… we even had pink noodles!
February 15: tea with Chase at Rital, a local coffee shop where women can go!
February 16: On the Boarder in Dubai with some friends
February 17: Valentine’s date with Chase… started out with Cinnabon & coffee, then TWO movies at the theater, and Wendy’s for lunch!
February 18: sand storm for 2 days+ old house+ living in the desert= this picture!
January 30 – February 9
hope you didn’t think I stopped taking pictures! I am still snapping everyday! Just had not sat down to upload them until today… enjoy!
*disclaimer: I realize a lot of these pictures are of food- what can I say… we love food! ha
January 30: “greek” dressing from Dion’s- I have been missing Dion’s in the states & so Jord made me some greek dressing- so tasty
January 31: “Hotpot” with some Chinese friends of ours- I have been hearing about Hotpot for 5 years now- about how good it was… and now I can confirm it- such a treat!
February 1: Chocolate Coconut Milkshake- delicious
February 2: Roses from Chase- love him!
February 3: Cookout in the desert before we returned to school
February 4: sick day- spent all day on the couch… Chase joined me while he folded the laundry 🙂
February 6: visit to see some local friends at their work
February 7: it amazes me how flowers seem to grow in the desert- a blessing to have some color to look at
February 8: some of our good friends were in town for the night- their daughter LOVES flowers and decided to decorate my laundry stand- love it
February 9: PW’s mac & cheese
Christmas in the desert….
better late than never right?! Geezz can’t believe it has taken me till February 4 to post pictures from Christmas! I wanted to still do it so we have the memory for later and to share with those of you who still care to see pictures from our Christmas & New Years 🙂
We had a wonderful Christmas considering it was our first on this side of the world. We were able to spend Christmas Eve with new friends that we have made over here for a party, Christmas caroling and “white elephant” gift exchange. Christmas eve night the Remkes and their 3 girls spent the night so we could do stockings and breakfast at our house in the morning! We had quite the breakfast feast and were blessed with lots of gifts to open. It was a blessing to get to spend Christmas with our friends who feel like family since it was the first time for either of us to be away from family. (which we missed dearly of course) We enjoyed roast, potatoes, and homemade rolls for dinner at the Remke’s house Christmas night & had another sleep over at their house and then I had a local family over for tea & Christmas sweets on Monday which included showing them parts of Christmas Joy!… I love when the celebrations continue for several days!
Christmas Eve party with sweet freinds
Christmas Morning… we had crapes (drew & jord’s Christmas breakfast tradition), coffee cake (my family’s tradition), and Orange Julius (chase & I’s tradition) for breakfast, opened stockings & gifts with the A/C on to make it feel cold! It was a great morning!
Other Christmas/New Year’s activities: Pecan Pie for dessert on Christmas, my dear local friends enjoying learning about Christmas for the first time! (hope to be able to explain it better in Arabic next year!), dinner with Chase to celebrate the new year, 3rd annual Christmas craft party with Jord & other ladies out here, & New Year’s spent drinking tea and watching the water/firework show in Dubai on TV- it was quite the show- they were trying to out do Time’s Square!
again sorry for the delay in posting these! Hope you enjoy! Thankful that the Lord sent Jesus to be our King and that He was born, lived a perfect life, died and rose again so that we can rejoice and have life in Him!
January 20- January 29
January 20- started working out again… love that working out makes me want to eat healthier
January 21: “jewelry catcher” – finally made something for all my necklaces & earrings- reminds me of a “dream catcher” in New Mexcio 🙂
January 22: enjoying any moment I can wear these this winter! I am a true desert girl when 65 degrees is freezing!
January 23: breakfast with sweet friends
January 24: love breaks when I can enjoy drinking “Janna tea lattes” (black tea with vanilla, milk, foam, and a little sugar) while reading the word at 11 am!
January 25: a trip to the capital of the UAE
January 26: car loaded for our first beach camp!
January 26: great place for snorkeling
January 28: Sur: a small coastal/boating town 30 minutes from our campsite- breathtaking.
January 29: the most gorgeous waddi (valley where water collects & date palm trees grow- all over Oman) I have been to yet- the boys jumped off the rocks into the water- crazy.
One.year.
It’s hard to believe that we arrived on this side of the world over a year ago (January 19, 2011 to be exact!) What a year it has been- we have seen, tasted, smelled, met, learned and experienced so many new things. We have had some of the best times in our marriage and some of the hardest times. We have met many great new people and said goodbye (or wait good-later) to so many people we love both here & in the states. We have moved twice. We have been humbled and made to feel like toddlers again (and continue to be) as we are learning Arabic, experiencing new cultures, making friends with locals, purchasing things at the store, and much more.
We are thankful for our first year out here. We are thankful for the people we have met, for the community we have had, for the language school we are attending, for the help we have had getting settled in, for the locals we have met, for the places we have been and for the things we have seen. The Lord has been faithful and has provided for us and has shown us His grace and mercy in so many situations.
Five of my favorite things about living out here after a year:
- the ability to buy inexpensive produce on the side of the road in wheelbarrows (cilantro, mint, lettuce…)
- the hospitality of the people and neighbors
- cheap gas & that they pump it for you
- living an hour from the beach
- learning Arabic- the hardest, but most rewarding thing about being out here right now
Five of my least favorite things:
- living across the ocean from my family and friends
- no dryer or dishwasher (I know I am spoiled…)
- that it is not normal for woman to walk around or go anywhere by themselves in our town
- the heat (in the summer anyway- right now the weather is gorgeous- so thankful)
- the roundabouts and impatient drivers
We are thankful for all of you who have followed us and kept up with us since before we even moved out here. We look forward to starting our 3rd semester of Arabic and entering into our second year overseas with lots of exciting adventures ahead!
our first day in the desert in 2011
Muscat January 2012
January 10- January 19
January 10: our tailor finishing up a fun craft project that I will be sharing with you soon- it was quite the ordeal & I am pretty sure he thought we were crazy!
January 11: cheese & zatar pastry from a yummy bakery in the unmentionable city across the boarder that we only get to go to every once and a while- delicious! (since we live in a border town it is kinda of a big deal to cross into the UAE- only 4 minutes from our house- where there are malls, Starbucks, & American food… it is a treat when we get to go)
January 12: getting ready for a local wedding
January 13: finally had some time to put away my Christmas decor- until next year!
January 14: my new reading corner in our mejelious– meaning sitting room
January 15: Pioneer Woman’s Beef & Noodles- you will start to see that one, I love to take pictures of food and two, I love cooking PW recipes- she has yet to disappoint me!
January 16: Cafe Remke– studying for finals in the Remke mejilious- Jord made us drinks & brought us snacks… such a blessing since I have a had time studying at our house- I know I am strange…
January 17: Blueberry muffins for our teachers
January 18: homemade salsa- one of my favorite things to make out here- and the great things is you can get cilantro in abundance here & for cheap!
January 19: breakfast of champions: coffee or tea, low-fat plain yogurt with granola & honey– what I bring to school everyday (who has time to eat breakfast at home?)
