Category Archives: Everyday Life
they’re here!
we have been dreaming, talking, and thinking about living in the desert with our best friends, the Remkes, for about 4 years now and it has finally happened! They finally joined us out here at the end of October. And what a blessing it has been so far. We love having them here and love getting to do life with them again. After being apart for about a year, it seems like time never passed- we picked up right where we left off. I am looking forward to see what this next chapter in our life looks like. Now that they are here we can start working on business planning, visa obtaining ideas, and searching out what city we will live in after language school.
It has been so great to have the girls here. Soon they will be joining my ballet class. Looking forward to craft nights, holidays, birthdays, and ordinary days with these guys. Since we all live so far away from family it is nice to feel like we have “family” near us now. We have been blessed to get to do life them- the timing of them arriving has already been perfect and just what we needed!
Welcome back friends! Glad to have you here with us. Look forward to many more memories with you! We love you.
brokenness
Wow, I can’t believe it has almost been a month since I have posted on this thing- so sorry! I feel like this semester has been defined by getting settled back into living here, setting up house, being tired, and things being broken…
I am going to attempt to explain one of the many “broken” stories in our life right now… sorry if it is hard to follow!
A week ago I drove to Dubai for the first time by myself (with my friend Jord, her baby & her mom) without Chase for a girls shopping day! Now normally this wouldn’t probably be a big deal except for the fact that we have to drive through mountains to get there & once you are in the Big city there is lots of traffic, big round abouts, & its hard to navigate around, which Chase is great at… so all this to say it was a pretty big deal that I did this! I was super proud of myself- (only got off track twice- which is pretty good for me)…. All was going great, we had a successful/fun day shopping, packed our car out with new purchases for Jordi’s new house… until we came to one of the border crossings before we entered the mountain….As we pulled up I heard something strange- thinking it could be a flat tire we decided to pull over. Jord & I get out and try to evaluate the situation- no flat tire, but smoke coming out of the hood… we figured this was probably not a good sign.
So we popped the hood, turned the car on to listen & it didn’t sound normal, but in all reality neither of us really knew what we were listening for, so we decided to go ask the boarder guards if they could help us or see what was wrong…
As we pulled up, I hopped out and asked if anyone spoke English- No. So I took a deep breath and thinking awesome, I am going to have to bust out some Arabic not only to men (which I usually never talk to out here in Arabic), at night after a day of shopping & about car stuff- which I barely know vocab for in English! I think I got my point across with Jord’s help & after they didn’t believe us at first- I am pretty sure they were thinking “these stupid American women they don’t know what they are talking about…” But once they realized my steering was no longer working they saw there really was a problem & were super helpful, respectful, and nice.
here we are waiting for Chase to come pick us up!
After a little bit they called the police & a tow truck to come help us out (in the meantime Chase was picking up an SUV from a friend to come pick us & our stuff up- he was about an hour & a half away…). Once the police got to us he started talking to me in what I thought was Arabic & we didn’t understand him- Jord said I think he is speaking to you in “borken-hindy Arabic” (which is sort of a slang Arabic they use with the Indians, Pakistanis, etc here)… so I went up to him they next time he started talking to me & asked him to not speak to me in broken Arabic, but in real Arabic— he smiled & started talking to me again & I understood him way better than before! I was beginning to think I knew nothing- was super thankful Jord was there to help!
Eating dinner while we waited...
there goes our Soda! (kead named her that- it means black in Arabic)
It was quite the night, and could have been much worse, but were so thankful for our experience with the boarder guys, the weather was gorgeous, Evie was content & thankful that we live in the country that we do- the people truly are so kind & helpful.
All this to say, our car has been in shop for a week because a few days after this happened the country had a local religious holiday- so everything has been shut down for a few days! So we decided to rent a car to share with the Remkes so we all wouldn’t be car-less for the week. Praise God our car is fixed now!
I am also learning a lot about my brokenness and how sinful I am. I have had a hard time trusting & feeling settled when it feels like everything around me is broken (our fridge,/freezer, electricity in one room, etc) but then I remember that I am broken as well and am reminded how thankful I am for JC and his Redeeming cross.
Desert Days…
I finally put all my recent pictures (over 500- I think I have a problem… ha) on to Chase’s computer since mine still doesn’t have space! Needless to say, I am going to post some pics of what we have been up to lately…
1. We are settling into our new house, slowly, but surely. We got our hallway, living room, and bedroom walls painted, purchased a new couch (in the “as is” section at IKEA- we are loving it), cleaned, decorated, rearranged, and anything else it takes to move into a new house. When I look back at the past month of moving in- I feel exhausted, satisfied & excited to be making our house into a home. Here is a before pic of our bedroom- more before & after- coming soon!
2. It seems like we have been attending and throwing parties ever since we got back from Amsterdam. I am not complaining, I love throwing parties, but it has been a busy season for that.
Found a great Buffalo Wild Wing recipe for an “American junk food” movie watching party.
Helped my friend with a “princess” birthday party for this precious 3 year old:
A spa party complete with “Cucumber Spa Water”- so refreshing…
3. Met my (old) neighbor’s new baby boy- he is so precious and super tiny! I think only 5 lbs! It has been fun to meet her extended family members and celebrate exciting life events with my local friends.
4. My dear friend Liz came to visit us last weekend. Her sweet husband gave her a weekend away without her 2 kids! We had a great weekend, full of late nights, talking, baking, visits with local friends, coffee, a trip to IKEA, and memories I will have forever. So thankful for her friendship and that we have been able to remain close even though she moved away. So thankful for cheap plane tickets, skype, & texting!
5. Cowboys game! We had the opportunity to watch a live- the game was on at noon in America, which is only 9 pm here- Cowboy game with fellow Texan’s and Cowboy fans last Sunday. We decided to get together for some queso, guacamole, salsa, chips & sweet tea (cuz what football game is complete without these snacks?) We had a great time, despite the out come of the game…
(notice my t-shirt, Chase finally bought me a Cowboy t-shirt for Christmas after being together for 5 years… so now I can officially cheer for the boys!)
6. Tonight we went to a wadi (an area that gathers water & grows trees in between the mountains) for a picnic with some friends. The weather was beautiful (85 degrees, granted it was past sunset & up in the mountains… slowly but surely the temperatures are dropping out here) and the company was great! Looking forward to the “winter” season out here… I have a feeling we will be spending a lot of time outdoors.
thankful…
It is 1 am here and I can’t sleep! I decided to reward myself after studying tonight by decorating my house with fall goodness (pictures to come) and by drinking Chai tea (one of my favorite fall/winter drinks), however, I tried a new kind tonight and I think it had caffeine in it! oops… so instead of sleeping, you all get to hear from me 🙂 Be prepared for rambling…
For some reason, probably because I am selfish & in need of someone greater than myself, this afternoon I was in a rotten mood. I was stressed about all the things on my “to do” list, about my dirty, unorganized house, I was exhausted from 5 hours of Arabic & staying up late the night before, I was short with Chase…. basically I was no fun to be around. I am a person who like order, cleanliness & a place to call home when these things aren’t possible I have a hard time resting or getting things I need to get done, done. So I decided to lay down for a little bit & hope to wake up on the right side of the bed… Praise be to JC because it worked. I woke up feeling better, feeling like I had a fresh start, that the old had gone and the new had come, I was reminded that His mercies are new each morning or afternoon. After I woke up I decided to start dinner, study (which I desperately needed to do— because of the above reasons I have not been able to get in a steady study routine yet), once I finished studying, cooking dinner & eating I got to decorate… one of my favorite things. I am thankful that I was able to bring a little bit of “fall” with me to the desert. This “fall” includes leaves, acorns, candles & gorgeous colors of fall! Even though the weather is hott still & there is zero sign of fall around here, I can come home and be reminded of God’s provision & blessings- which to me right now is a clean house, lovely fall decor, a wonderful husband, family & friends & a content heart. Something I learned from tonight is that even though a clean house, fall decor, and order is nice- it is not where I find my hope- my hope is in JC. He alone can satisfy, He alone can provide the things that make my heart smile, He alone is the who I need to find my “home” in. I am thankful that I was able to see this tonight… that He blessed me with a freshly painted clean house (pics to come), fall in the desert, and things checked off on my “to do” list.
*I will probably need to reread this tomorrow & the next… everyday…to be reminded. I hope that my fall leaves will remind me of what I have learned tonight.
“Oh Lord, Oh Lord! How majestic is your name in all the earth!” Ps 8:1
“Be joyful always, pray continually, give THANKS in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in JC” 1 Thes. 5:15-18
What are you all thankful for? I hope to meditate on this fall as Thanksgiving draws near. I hope you will too!
Colorado- fall 2010
“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the starts, which you have set in place…. Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Ps. 8: 3…9
Back to school, back to school…
Yesterday we officially started our 2 semester of Arabic! Woo who! It has been great so far and we are enjoying knowing more than we knew last semester. We are so thankful to be back, to be speaking Arabic again, to be settling into a routine again, and to be moving forward.
I forgot to take first day and second day of school pictures… we will see if I remember tomorrow! Also, warning, it might be a little bit till we post any pics (hopefully sooner than later)- I have the huge task of looking through all my pics (I have over 12,000 on here now- I know crazy) to allow room for more- I have filled up my hard drive!
On a side note, we got broken into while we went on vacation to Amsterdam (more on this trip later- we had a wonderful time)! Even though it is super frustrating, kind of unsettling thinking about people being in our house & going through our stuff, and a pain, we are in good spirits. We have peace & are being reminded of where our treasure is…. Not in our stuff, but in Christ. And luckily they didn’t take my computer, our tv, or anything too big. Only DVDs, money, and some clothes). On a positive language learning note, Chase was able to explain to the police what happened in Arabic! I was proud of him.
Back again!
We made it back safe and sound!! And we keep saying to each other, “can’t believe we are already back!” as we clean bathrooms and unpack bags. Time flys when you are having fun!
Anyway, we are getting settled in our new house – I will be sure to post before and after pics when I have them. Love u all- thanks for the prayers for safe travel. Now we just need to get over jet lag!
long over due.
Thought I would give you an update on what we have been up to… sorry for the break in posts lately- seems like we haven’t had much time to sit down all summer! (it might be in two parts)
1. Believe it or not, we are enjoying a little cooler weather here in the states. I am not saying that it is cold here, but it does, surprisingly, feel a little cooler than our desert home. Especially in Albuquerque where it was 75 degrees last week- glorious!
2. Our purpose for coming home was to celebrate Aubrey & Nate’s wedding! We had a great time celebrating their love. The wedding was gorgeous, the weather was great (well for the most part- it rained, not as much as it did at ours, & it was a little windy, but what is an outdoor wedding without a little weather-right?), the food was delicious, the dancing was fun, and it was such a blessing to see my little sister marry her best friend and a man that loves Jesus and that I am confident will love Aubs forever. We couldn’t be happier for them! Congrats Mr. & Mrs. Myers!
3. So far we have driven over 3500 miles and we have one more trip to Dallas to make! We have traveled to Houston, Austin, Round Rock, New Braunfels, Dallas, Lubbock, Lamesa, Midland, and Albuquerque… here are a few pics of people and things we we saw along the way.
Lamesa: Drive-in movie- Zookeeper- wouldn’t recommend it, but we had a good time with family.
Lubbock: West Crust Pizza (if you haven’t tried it and live in Lubbock- you should) with sweet friends.
Dallas: Celebrated our nieces sweet 16th with a scavenger hunt around town. This was a date with Uncle Chase at Starbucks.
Houston: Stayed with our good friends, the Vernons. Love you guys!
Austin: Celebrated 3 years of marriage on July 19th! Wow, can’t believe how fast the time has gone. I am super thankful to be married to my best friend. I thank the Lord everyday for him and look forward to 80 more years together! For our anniversary we stayed in a hotel, went out for dinner, and hung out at a coffee shop to read for a few hours together- it was great and much needed as it landed in the middle of our stay in America. I love you Chaser!
Will post more of the summer later…
On a side note, we head back to the desert August 15th! It is quickly approaching and we are getting more and more excited. Thank you to everyone that we have seen or talked to this summer. It has been blessing and encouragement to us to catch up with you. Thank you for your hospitality, love, prayers, and care for us. We could not be where we are without you.
desert days..
We are sitting in the airport in Amsterdam right now waiting for our flight back to America! Cannot believe how quickly this semester flew by… I know that our moms are reading this and thinking- fast, yeah right! But really it is hard to believe that in less than 10 hours we will be back with our loved ones in the states. We are excited to see you all.
What a semester it has been… we have been blessed and surprised as our love for the people, country & language has grown. We have made some really great friends out here and are excited to return. I wasn’t sure if I was going to feel that way at this time, but I am thankful that we do.
I wanted to post a few things about what we have been up to lately- I have decided that I like these posts because it will be fun to look back at one day to see what our time in language school was like. Hope you enjoy them too! (I plan on adding more pics when we get home- I don’t have them all on my computer right now- sorry!)
1. Hosting…
We had 4 boys come visit us for about 2 weeks at the end of May. One of them is our good friend Drew, who will be moving out here with his family this fall! We can’t wait for them to come! The boys came for a vacation before summer school started up. It was encouraging to see them & fun for Chase to get to visit locals with them.
2. Eating… I hope that none of you are worried about what we have been eating, because even though we can’t get the same things we can in the states and we have to experiment with recipes and pretty much make everything from scratch, we do not lack in the food department. In fact cooking and baking for a lot of us is a way to let our minds rest after studying Arabic all day.
Part of the yummy eating we have been doing lately includes a Chinese dinner cooked by some of our Chinese classmates, along with a traditional tea after dinner. It was so yummy. I also made a homemade lasagna for our friends, of course a Pioneer Woman recipe, that was delicious, but sort of expensive to make- not sure I will ever make it on this side of the world again, but it was fun to try!
3. Bittersweet moments. This semester we met a family that we became super close to, super quickly. It has been such a blessing to get to know them, however, super sad because they just finished there last semester of language and will be moving to another country for a new job in two weeks. 🙁 This means when we return they will not be in our town- which makes me super sad. Liz has become a dear friend to me… one that I feel like myself around, one I feel like I can speak like a 2 year old on visits with & not feel stupid cuz she speaks awesome, one that I can just sit and talk for hours with, one that I can go on visits with & throw parties with, one that I can talk about cooking with, one that I can get pedicures with (we have decided to make it a goal to see how many countries we can get pedicures in together- so far we have 2 down!), one that I can cry and laugh with… it is hard to believe that we have only known each other for under 5 months. She and her family will be greatly missed, but we are excited for what lies ahead for them.
The last few weeks we tried to fit in as many things together as we could. We had a going away dinner at our house for them, a party with some other students, got a pedicure, and went to “the big city” one more time together… Love you friend! Thanks for everything!
4. Studying… We finished our first semester of Arabic study & we both passed! We feel like we did well for our 1st semester, but know that there is so much more to learn & look forward to seeing ourselves grow in the language and start sounding like at least a 4 year old! ha I was telling Chase that I really love speaking Arabic. It is so fun to be able to (well try to) express yourself in another language. As most of you know, I love to talk… so now I am learning how to do this in another tongue- lucky for Chase- ha! I feel like it opens your mind & world so much more. What a blessing that we have this opportunity to learn.
5. Packing & moving… Yup I said moving! We are moving into a villa in the fall. We found a place to live that is much cheaper than where we are living now & the added bonus is that we have a carport & and a housh (outside yard area that is blocked in by walls). We are excited, but have been super busy with the move & feel almost as exhausted as we did when we left America 5 months ago. We are hope to get to rest before wedding festivities start next week!
6. Reflecting… we have been trying to take some time to think back on this semester- on how we did, what we can do differently, what we did well & what we stunk at, how we studied, how we spent our time, etc… This summer we hope to be able to put these thoughts on paper and be able to share them with you.
7. And finally discussing how Chase can be more involved in this blog! He desires to share stories with you all & has lots to tell- he is just sort of a “social media introvert” (we discovered this when we moved out here). We have some fun ideas that you can look forward to in the fall.
Better go about to run out of free internet! Sorry for the novel- feel free to read as much as you would like!
-Britt
ballet video
My friend posted an edited version (which I love cuz my voice is not in it 😉 ) of the ballet recital on her blog. Go visit it if you want to see it!
Enjoy! I love watching it cuz it reminds me of “performance days” at Alwins (my dance studio back home) Miss those days.
little ballerinas
Remember that I have been teaching a few girls ballet?
Well last night I put on my first dance recital in the mejelious (sitting area) at our school. It was so much fun. My friend video taped it and if I can learn how to upload it on here I will share it with you all. The girls were so cute & I think they had a great time. I am looking forward to many more recitals here in the desert.
Here are the girls resting & enjoying some snacks before their performance…
So proud of these girls! The parents threw roses at them when they were done – because one of the girls saw it on Little Einstein’s and she thought that is what happens after a dance recital & kept asking if we were going to throw roses at them! too cute…
And what is a dance recital without refreshments. The mom’s were wonderful and brought yummy snacks to share!
Notice the blue skirt… I made that for my friend’s daughter! It looked so cute on her.
I have so enjoyed getting to teach these girls & seeing what a blessing it is to them and me. They love it… even if after 20 min (or less) their feet hurt, or they need to sit down cuz their tummies hurt, etc… it cracks me up! And I have a newfound respect for my dance teacher & when I visit her this summer I am going to ask her how she has taught 3 & 4 year olds the art of ballet all these years!
