DB, Jeni, EB, and Lorelai

We were in Thailand when Lorelai was about 5 months olds, and since she wasn’t crawling yet, she was able to sit by the pool with us and just roll around on the pool chair.  She wasn’t crazy about the water, but loved being with us in the sunshine!

When we left the city we lived in for 2 years, we had a lot of sad goodbyes with locals, teammates, and other expats.  There were two families in particular that we all loved dearly, and EB’s two best friends came from those awesome families – Nicole and Jonah.  The pictures below are EB hanging out with each of these friends to say good bye.  She has said goodbye to a lot of people that she loves, but I know that these two friends are the people she will really miss.  (As DB and I will miss their parents.  Besides our kids loving each other, these are two families that have been there for us and supported us as true friends).  Now, one month later, our sweet little three year old, sitting on the couch watching a movie, turned to me and said “You know, I will never see Nicole again?”  I guess it hasnt dawned her about Jonah, but one thing I could tell her without feeling as if I was lying – that we just might see Jonah and Nicole again one day.  I mean, who DOESN’T want to vacation in Greece????

While on vacation in Hua Hin, Thailand, we found this amazing little night market called Cicadia Market. It was an art market that showcased one-of-a-kind, hand made arts and crafts as well as a smorgasbord of delicious Thai food and live music every weekend night. We went back twice we loved it so much.

This year at Christmas, we listened to and sang A LOT of Christmas songs.  We worked especially hard on EB learning Away in a Manger, but, true to her stubborn little self, she would not sing the song.  You can imagine my surprise when, three weeks after Christmas as we are hanging out in Thailand, EB started singing the song.  Sweet Little Stubborn Girl – everything in her own time, I guess.

It has been almost a month now of living in limbo.  Everyday we wait for a new email or phone call with more information, always one day away from heading to Greece.  Like those dreams where you are running toward something important but can never quite get there, our family is waiting in the land of limbo, and it feels like we will be here for an eternity.

One day as I stood at the kitchen sink washing the evening dishes, I heard raucous laughter behind me.  When I turned around, I saw EB dragging Lorelai across the kitchen floor.  Of course, I ran and grabbed the video camera because I thought it was hilarious.  Since then, EB and I have talked about how that is not a good idea because Lorelai could get hurt, but I really am glad I captured the moment…

We had a great time decorating the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving this year – Susan Edwards was with us, and this was the first year that EB really got into things. I love this video – it is kind of long, so be forewarned.

Does anyone else remember how Dylan on 90210 used to live in a hotel room and everyone thought it was so cool? Well, I am here to tell you that living in a hotel room is NOT all it is cracked up to be! Our family lived in a hotel room for about 6 weeks after Lorelai was born, and now we are staying in the exact same hotel and have been for three weeks now. Why, you ask?
Well, we left the country where we were and are headed to Athens, Greece to work with the same people group that we were. We will still get to speak Dari, and we will be helping refugees from our people group, which we are excited about.

We have been in Dubai taking care of some medical stuff, member care transition stuff, and getting a one year, multiple entry Greek visa. This has been harder than expected because we are not residents of the UAE, so giving us a visa at an embassy in the UAE…well, it hasn’t been done before. We just acquired all of the paperwork we needed, and on Monday DB will head out to the Greek embassy in Abu Dhabi.
We are really looking forward to this new season in our lives – still doing what we love with the people we love, but without the security concerns or restrictions of the previous country we lived in. Please keep reading the blog for more info – I have been trying to catch up on uploading pictures and movies and have set the blog to update evry weekday for the next three weeks – I figure by then we will be settled in Greece (hopefully) and I can update from there. Sorry – especially to my family who have been jonesing for pics of the girls- we have been having a rough time for a while now, so now that life is a little bit more normal, I will hopefully do better at that!

Thank you for your prayers during this transition – it was a tough decision, but we are confident this is the right thing for our family.  Please keep praying for us as we make this move – and, of course, go ahead and plan your vacation to Greece!

The pictures:  Lorelai playing in her favorite spot – with the stroller.  EB picking Lorelai up trying to help her walk.  Lorelai pulling up by herself for the first time.  EB trying to help Lorelai get up on the couch.  (Hotel living makes for good sister time).

This is a video of EB Girl dancing at a wedding.

I LOVE this video. This is EB and Lorelai’s new game they play – EB laughs and Lorelai laughs and it goes on and on until EB gets tired of it.