Last Day at the Beach

This summer we took a few trips to the Sea. The kids loved being able to run around, dig in the sand, and even enjoy the water if it was clean enough. Because lots of oil comes from the Caspian Sea, oil can be floating around in the water. Not a very healthy and safe way to swim. This particular day the water was clear and we all enjoyed swimming and riding the waves.

First Day of School

I can't believe how fast our children our growing up...Today we dropped off all four at the International School here. Isabel began kindergarten and will go three times a week, Benjamin is in 1st grade now, Laura Grace in 4th, and Caleb in 7th. The classes are combined and there are kids from all over. Benjamin is the only American boy in his class. Laura Grace has friends and classmates from Finland, Norway, Korea, Ukraine, India, and the US. It is a great school and has been a blessing to our family while living and working here.

I am so thankful for all God is doing in their lives. Every day I am learning more and more how dependent I am upon His grace and wisdom in my life. Parenting is tough, tiring, trying, precious, amazing, humbling, rewarding all at the same time. Thank you Lord for the joy of watching You work in their lives and in mine every day.

Nana and Papa Come for a Visit!

What a special blessing to have Nana and Papa here for a month this summer! We all enjoyed the special time together after being apart for a year. Because we are no longer in an apartment, the kids were able to spend alot more time with nana and papa outside in our courtyard. We walked along the boulevard, played games together, hung out at our English business, and even took a trip 4 hours outside the city to go camping! I think climbing "Gumdrop Mountain" with the kids was the highlight of their trip. We are so thankful for the memories we made together.

What Sea is this?

A trip outside of our country always gets the children talking about what western foods the country we are visiting has...this was a hilarious answer to my question during our wade in the Sea of Galilee...

Trip to Jordan and Israel

Amman, Jordan (the old city)

This year, many foreign families where we live have had difficulty getting a one-year visa. We are one of them. After six months of dealing with this, the country where we live denied our one-year and we were asked to leave the country. We decided to use this exit as a time to get away and enjoy a vacation.

We are blessed to have friends in Jordan and haven't seen them in years so we gave them a call. They were so helpful in getting us a cheap place to stay and show us around the city. We had such a great time reuniting our families again after eight years!

The Tower of Hercules

"Look, mom, no hands!"

A different view from what we see in our city. Amman is a city of hills with lots of small square apartment buildings.

The Jordan River...just feet away from the Israeli border. We were able to see the site where many scholars would say Jesus was baptized.

Floating in the Dead Sea (Jordan). It was really amazing to experience this. Merril tried to help Isabel float but she just couldn't understand why she didn't need to kick her feet to stay afloat! The water is so salty that if you even touch an eyelash with your wet hand, it is like pouring salt into your eyes. I am pretty sure Merril's eyes were on fire after helping the kids.

Just relaxing in the Dead Sea...Look, kids, no hands!

Jerusalem

After crossing the border by bus from Jordan to Israel, we finally made it to Jerusalem! What an amazing city! The Dome of the Rock is in the background and the Western (Wailing) Wall is just below it.

We hired a guide for our family and spent several days in the city exploring inside the old city walls. We stayed at a guesthouse inside the city walls and had a wonderful experience. The steps behind us are some of the original steps from 2000 years ago!

Original Street of Jerusalem...where shops, fruit markets, animals to be bought for the yearly sacrifice would have been.

The Women's Side of the Wailing Wall...If you look closely, you can see written prayers stuck in between the cracks of the wall.

Merril and the boys walking away from the Wailing Wall. Maybe you can spot them in their hats.

Christian Quarter of the old city

The Garden where Jesus prayed "Not my will, but yours" before his arrest and crucifixtion.

The Garden Tomb

"He is not here, for He has risen!"

Posing with some soldiers

Traveling outside Jerusalem was a huge highlight of our trip. We visited Nazareth, Capernuum, Tiberias, and the Sea of Galilea.

The Sea of Galilea

Celebrating 14 years of Marriage!

Little did we know when we met 17 years ago while attending UGA, what an adventure our lives would be. Four months after we were married, Holly's dad passed away. We lived in Rome for seven years while Merril worked as a pharmacist.

We then felt the Lord leading us and our two children to move overseas and work in Thailand. This was another growing time for all of us emotionally and spiritually. We found true contentment and strength from the Father during our time there. Our third child was born there.

After returning to the States, we lived and prayed about where God would have us next. Our fourth child was born and two years later, we ventured out on another journey to our present home... Central Asia. We have been here over 2 1/2 years now and have had challenging but yet rewarding experiences. We have made many friends and have grown to love the people here.

We are so blessed to have each other and have 14 amazing years together as husband and wife. It has been a great adventure thus far!