January 1- January 9

Posted on January 20, 2012 by

I am in the process of figuring out how to just post my pictures for my 365 project on the “365” page on the top of our blog, but for now it will just be posted in both because I want to start getting these pictures posted or I will forget what I have taken!

*disclaimer: I am borrowing my friend Jord’s camera with a fancy lens & she is teaching me how to use it- still learning!- so a lot of this project will be a trial & error, but I am super excited to learn how to capture things in a new way!

Here is the first 9 days…

January 1: a trip to the fabric souk with friends

January 2: a visit with some local girls

January 3: my sweet little ballerinas

January 4: Global Village in Dubai

January 5: Fruit Cocktail goodness

January 6: love this sweet girl

January 7: best Starbucks in the world–one day we will live closer to it!

January 8: Pioneer Woman’s Chicken Spaghetti for dinner- always a hit

January 9: my view every Monday night for the last yearat our dear friend’s house for dinner

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    “min zah-mahn!”

    Posted on January 15, 2012 by

    meaning…. “long time”!

    So sorry it has been a while since I have updated our blog. We had a wonderful Christmas, great new year, guests from the states for two weeks, made two Dubai trips, one Muscat trip, and two Sohar trips in the last month… its been a little busy to say the least.

    I hope to give this blog a “face lift” during our semester break- which starts in 4 days!! We have one day of class left, 2 exam days, and a party then we are done with our second semester of Arabic- so hard to believe! We are also coming up on our one-year anniversary out here. Look forward to pics from Christmas, our visit with our friends, a local wedding and a recap from our first year here!

    Also, something to look forward to… I stated a 365 photo project (which means you take a picture a day for 365 days- one year) to help improve my photography skills, give you a taste of our everyday life, and work toward maybe getting a more professional camera (Jord is letting me borrow her old one now). I started it on Jan. 1st, so I have already taken 15 photos that I have yet to share with you. I plan on added a page to this blog and updated the pics weekly. Again, this won’t happen till our break, but get excited! I know I am. Also, Chase has really wanted to make it a goal to post on here more often- so hopefully in 2012 you will get to hear from someone other than me!

    Happy New Year! Hope it has been great so far!

      Posted in Everyday Life | 1 Comment

      desert days

      Posted on December 18, 2011 by

      Whew! It has been quite the month for us… Here is an update on what’s been going on:

      1. We decorated for Christmas while drinking chai tea and watching Christmas Joy– a must during Christmas time for me (it is a a dance show I was in for 10 years telling the true meaning of CHRISTmas through dance). Since there is no snow outside, no Christmas music playing in every store, or lights adoring the neighbors homes, I am thankful that I could decorate inside & we that have two trees this year! (they were both left in our house)

      2. A few days after I returned home from the states Chase and I were sleeping and Chase woke up to the sound of water rushing, he turned over and asked if I had left the shower on! I said of course not! So next thing he did was stand up to go check on the problem when he stepped down water splashed him in the face! Which meant we had a bigger problem than we thought. We quickly realized that our water heater pipe in our bathroom busted and had been shooting out water for over an hour! So all this to say our entire house (except our kitchen & two quests rooms) were under water (about 1-2 in deep!) OMgoodness it was a mess… we stayed up for 3 hours sweeping the water, ringing out clothes, hanging up rugs to dry all while trying to laugh instead of cry! Everything is fine now, we got the pipe fixed, rugs are dry, house is smelling normal again…

      3. Our car has had lots of “issues” as of late (well actually ever since it broke down on the side of the road for me- I promise I didn’t do anything to it!- ha) so we have been juggling sharing a car with the Remkes, catching rides to school and such… resting in the fact that one day “all things will be made new!”

      4. We took a trip down to the capital city with the Remke family! Because of the issue above we drove together in one car as one big happy family! We had a great trip exploring, dreaming about living there together (possibly in the same house!) one day, brainstormed about our business, drank coffee, went to the beach, shopped for Christmas, ate great food, and visited with great friends. Look forward to many more trips like this.

      Best Startbucks on earth (or at least that I know of right now…)

      I know we are living a rough life out here so close to the gorgeous beach! Come visit us- you are always welcome!

      5. This past weekend we (Jord and I) threw a baby shower for my dear friend Katie who is having another boy in March. We had a great time planning, crafting, baking and preparing for this shower. We even stayed up till 4 am working on stuff for it! (crazy, I know… but it turned out great esp. for living in a place without Hobby Lobby) The theme was a “Persian Cafe” with a French inspired menu….

      *pictures & collage of shower done by the wonderful photographer, Jord*

      6. We have one week of class and then we are off for a week to celebrate Christmas! Looking forward for some time to rest & I hope to meet my new neighbors. I have been a terrible neighbor since we moved into our new house! I will let you know if it happens.

      Hope you all have a great week before Christmas! Can’t believe it is only ONE week away! Better start baking & wrapping gifts!

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        give thanks in all circumstances..

        Posted on December 6, 2011 by

        Hope you all had a blessed thanksgiving! Sorry for the delayed post.. I started it right after thanksgiving, but never finished… lots has been going on- desert days coming soon!

        I would have never imagined that I would have been spending thanksgiving this year in the states… even though our hearts have been heavy, the Lord has been good to meet us where we are and we had a great thanksgiving. It is always good to be with my sisters, mom & family. I am so thankful for them and don’t know where I would be without them. Thankful for the time I got to spend with them and look forward to the day we are together again.

        Chase spent thanksgiving in the desert. He was well taken care of and celebrated with our fellow American friends out here with all the traditional turkey-day food, however, I am pretty sure he missed his dad’s famous stuffing- which we will attempt to make one day… I missed being with him on this day, but am thankful for the community we have out here and that he got to celebrate with them.

        aren’t my sisters & mom beautiful? love them!

        “be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances for this is His will for you in JC.” 1 thes. 5:16-18

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          they’re here!

          Posted on November 23, 2011 by

          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.

            Posted in Everyday Life, Family | 1 Comment

            Eid

            Posted on November 23, 2011 by

            a few weeks ago Chase and I got to celebrate a very important local holiday called, “Eid al-Adha” with our friends. It was our first time to be in country during an eid celebration. It was a great time for us to get to visit our friends, learn about the culture, and eat delicious traditional food.

            Here are some pictures of what we experienced/saw….

            …henna hands, lamb for lunch, visits, nice clothes, beef cooking in the ground, animals being sacrificed on the side of the road…

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              made for heaven

              Posted on November 18, 2011 by

              A week ago Friday, November 11th, my family’s lives were changed forever. My sister, Brooke, gave birth to my sweet niece, Blair Nicole’s earthly body at 6:15pm in Midland, TX. Blair Nicole was already in the arms of our Lord and Savior sometime before Thursday, November 10th at 4 pm. She was 5 lbs. 1 oz with perfect little lips, auburn hair, perfect little features…

              This has been the hardest thing that my family has ever gone through. However, we have felt God’s abundant grace, His faithfulness, His provision, and His presence throughout this whole process. We all have our questions and don’t understand and wish this didn’t happen, but we all have peace that Blair is in heaven and being loved more by Christ than anyone of us could here on earth could ever have loved her and we look forward to the day we get to see her again.

              I was in the desert when I found out about all of this and was devastated to say the least. The Lord provided and I was able to skype with my sister before and after she labored. I got to see sweet Blair through the computer, cry and rejoice in Blair’s life with Jesus, with my family as  we said goodbye to her. I had such support from my friends & Chase- not sure if I could have gotten through it all without them. Jord & Chase were God’s abundant grace to me. Oh Sunday morning I woke up feeling like I should be with my family to mourn, hug, cry, & grieve with them… so I prayed about it, talked with Chase about it, prayed some more & right when Chase & I were praying my mom texted and said to get on skype- so we did. At that time mom had an overwhelming feeling that I needed to come home. There was my answer- God was faithful. So about 6 hours later I was on a plane headed back to America to be with my family by Monday night. God’s provision was felt when our community in Lubbock teamed together & purchased my plane ticket to come home… again abundant grace.

              The service was held on Tuesday, November 15th in Big Spring, TX. It was so beautiful, God-glorifying and His presence was felt. I was amazed by Brooke & Clint’s strength & peace. Although, it was the hardest day of their lives, they walked through it with abundant grace, peace, and their love for the Lord and each other was so evident. I was blessed by them that day- their faith is so sure and so steadfast- only a faith that can come from the Lord. I praise Him for His provision in this. God in his provision gave Brooke & Clint the perfect songs to represent their precious daughter’s short, but significant life. If you would like to look up the songs that were played at the service here they are: “How He loves”- David Crowder Band (Clint has had this song on his heart since this all happened), “Held”- Natalie Grant, “Glory Baby”- Watermark.

              I get to stay in the states till after Thanksgiving (the 27th). I know that this thanksgiving will be marked with tears, sorrow, pain, and heartache, but there will also be a sense of thanksgiving, rejoicing, praising, and peace that only comes from the Lord. Each day we are one day closer to hold miss Blair Nicole and meeting our Savior face to face. This is going to be a long road, but I am thankful we aren’t walking it alone.  “Don’t be afraid for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

              One thing I know for sure is that Blair Nicole Scheulke was made for heaven and that is where she is resting in Christ’s arms.

              “I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.” Jeremiah 31:13

              “The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.” Habakkuk 3:19

              “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

                Posted in Family | 3 Comments

                brokenness

                Posted on November 9, 2011 by

                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...

                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.

                  Posted in Culture, Everyday Life | 1 Comment

                  Desert Days…

                  Posted on October 8, 2011 by

                  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.

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                    thankful…

                    Posted on September 21, 2011 by

                    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

                      Posted in Everyday Life | 4 Comments