Photos

A family photo on the beaches of Tangier.

Watching the movie "Cars" and cheering Lightning on, Go Lightning, Go!

Josiah is really into drawing lately, and will draw any where there is space. Even in the back of the truck with all the whitewash gear. At least its shady there!

He's also learning how to be helpful on the job site. Here he is helping to sift the sand in order to make concrete.

I tried to find some pictures of the wild flowers, but with all the Joey has on his plate, I'm afraid he doesn't get much opportunity to take pictures of flowers. So I hope these beautiful peas will satisfy those who want to know. Isn't it just lovely?!

And most exciting of all, our new van! Josiah is so in love with this van he wakes up each morning to make sure the "nice" van is outside. Then he has to tell us all about it :-) It is too cute to see him so excited. And he should be, this is a very nice addition to our vehicle situation. We are so blessed that God has provided this!

Random Thoughts and a Long Overdue Hello.

I'm still here, alive and well. Life has been full to say the least. We've started volunteer season here which means new people coming in and out of our house every 2 weeks. Sometimes it is overwhelming but most of the time we are laughing and enjoying the ever changing situations. Hopefully I'll get a chance to upload some new pictures of the "chickens" (aka kiddos) sometime this weekend, until then here are some random things I've been thinking over the last month...

• The boys have been growing and changing SO much in the past few weeks. Josiah is saying such big boy things and Benson is FINALLY walking. How does it happen? Weren't they just born yesterday?! Now they are telling me about concrete trucks, where their belly's are and how to say "donkey" in three different languages!
  

• My mother-in-law is here visiting for the month of April. It is a huge blessing to have her. We've gotten to hear some news of our stateside home and I have been greatly helped here around the house and with the boys. Sometimes I even have moments where I find myself just sitting down (what?!) and Joey and I have even gotten to go on a date (amazing but true!)!

• There is no cheddar cheese in Morocco. Why is their no cheddar cheese in Morocco? Next time I am in the states I am going to go to Tillamook Cheese Company (or whatever they are called) and I am going to STRONGLY suggest they consider marketing over here. Until then I will just dream of cheddar and enjoy the other varieties of cheese available...

• God is such an incredible artist, you should see the hillsides where we are. There has been so much rain this year that that wildflowers and wheat are going crazy all around us. I am in love with Morocco at this time of year. Something I will strive to remember come mid-august, when I look out across the sea of brown.

• I have to give a "shout-out" to popcorn while I'm typing up random thoughts. We are having popcorn almost every day for a snack. Seriously it is so good, and not bad for you. The kids LOVE it and its cheap! So far I am not growing tired of it, in fact, maybe I'll go make some right now!

• We watched "Slumdog Millionaire" the other day. Pretty good little flick. Parts of the movie were hard to watch, you know rip you heart out kinda things, but I must say I enjoy ending a movie feeling happy instead of "why did I waste my time".

• Benson's Arabic name is "Moobarak" which means "blessing" which is also what Benson means. It also happens to sound a lot like the first name of our president. So everyone around here thinks we named him after Mr. Obama. Just so you know, we didn't.
  

Well, enough random thoughts for now. Off to a little nap in the sunshine and a little language learning. Hoping you all are well!

Most Recent Favorites.

Who?: Josiah
When?: Just as he was getting over being sick
Why?: I just love the look on his face, his dorky clothes (the pants are 12 months, the shirt 4T) and his cheezy grin. He is starting to look so old and grown up, especially after his cheeks thinned down a little from being sick. I sure do love my chubs!

Who?: Benson
When?: The day before they were sick. We were going for a walk and it was really sunny so we pulled out Gramps' hats for a bit of protection.
Why?: Oh how I love his smile. And those ears being pushed out EVEN further by the hat. He is such a chicken! I love him!


What are some of your most recent favorites?!

A Little About Life

Its been a while, I got on, thought I'd fill you in on the random happenings...

*We've all been sick. The boys the worst. We always joke about how they act like starving children in Africa - you know cuz we live in Africa and they act like I never feed them, which I do by the way, anyway, they now LOOK like starving children. Josiah especially has turned into a stick. I miss my chunk.

*Spring has come to our area of Morocco. Flowers are popping up all over the place, the peas are being harvested and the sun is shining! I even planted a few herbs (Thanks Mom) and look forward to fresh Basil and Thyme. Oh man I love Spring!

*I have discovered the yummiest honey chicken recipe ever. I am so excited. It is a moroccan recipie that some American women put into a little cookbook here in our house. I had been looking for the recipie for a long time after eating at a resturant in Fez. Well, I found it and let me tell you my tummy is happy! We may even put it on the weekly rotation!

*We have one month until volunteers from around the world start joining us here. I am anxious and excited. It is always a bit crazy, but usually alot of fun. Luckily I am a people person!

*My sister-in-law Becky had her 5th little bundle last night. Malachi Peterson (I don't know his middle name) 6lbs 15oz and no body told me a length yet. From the pictures he looks just beautiful. As does Becky who is blessed with easy, quick deliveries. It hard to miss out on a new life being introduced to the family, but I know we'll meet him before too long and he wouldn't remember me now anyway!

*With the sun a shining I've been able to do complete loads of laundry in one day! We have to hang our laundry around here and when its not sunny it can take days to dry things. Its incredible to be how quickly things will dry in the sun!

*I am feeling blessed, loved and at peace with the world. Even though life is hard, and sometimes things don't go like I want, and there is so much I tend worry about. I know my God is good, my life is in his hands and he's got it all figured out. Seriously Dani, is there anything worry about?

Laundry

At a young age Josiah loved watching the washing machine. He would sit and watch, whether taking a bath or just scooting along. Now that love has led him to want to help me do the laundry...and not just help, actually do it all by himself!


I was in near the washing machine the other day and Josiah comes up to me and says "Mom, we need to wash clothes". So I said "go ahead". He preceded to grab all the clothes out of the basket, put the soap in the right slot (with a little reminder), turn the dial to the correct spot and push the start button all on his own. It was great! This is becoming a regular occurrence in our house, and I think I like it!



I wonder if Benson will follow in his brothers footsteps?!

A Few Pictures

Well, I made it on again! I thought I'd share a few pictures. Unfortunately, our computer contracted a pretty major virus so I only have a few pictures to share as of right now. The others are on an infected thumb drive that Joey is faithfully working on to get clean and working again soon... Never a dull moment around here, always something to do and always something to fix :-)


These days the boys are OBSESSED with pancakes. Each morning Josiah gets the "pancake plate" out of the cupboard and then gets his stool to watch the pancakes "make bubbles". Afterwords both boys sit on the floor of the kitchen and enjoy as many pancakes as they can stuff into their little faces.


Josiah is turning into a little man. He is talking a lot and always wanting to know about things. Yesterday Joey half seriously asked him where a certain backpack was. Josiah thought for a moment and then took him right to it! It is so much fun to watch him learn and grow. Its also hard not to laugh sometimes when disciplining him. His newest thing is to touch my nose with his nose when I tell him to "look at Mommy". Everytime I catch myself covering a smile!


Benson is a ton of fun these days. He loves to laugh and give cheesy grins. He is still taking his time walking, but getting around just fine. He has officially decided he does not like being beat up on by his older brother and takes matters into his own hands by wrapping his arms around Josiah's waist and growling like a lion. Usually they end up on the floor laughing. I almost die every time.


The weather has started to get a little more consistently nice in the afternoons. Still freezing, but at least it is sunny. We are enjoying sitting outside and talking with friends. Our friend Moses made these two childrens chairs out of discarded shovel handles and some rope. They are great and the boys LOVE sitting in them.



Hope to upload some more pictures again soon. Hope you're all doing good. Thanks for stopping by to visit even though I'm not here much :-) See you soon, I hope.

What?! It worked?!

For the past few weeks I've been trying to get on my blog, but for some reason every time I check it won't let me connect to anything related to Blogger. I still check regularly though hoping it will let me connect and I might be able to catch up with so many of you who also write blogs. Well tonight, I sat down to try and it worked! I can't believe it! I am so excited I don't know where to begin...

Our beautiful Christmas tree.

Stockings stuffed with goodies.

...I guess I'll just dive in. We have had a great few weeks. Hard, but great. Great because the Lord has shown us his faithfulness time and time again. A few days before Christmas we found out Baby #3 was not going to make it into life. It was hard to hear, but like I said every moment since then has been covered in grace by the Lord. He took care of me in ways I didn't know I needed taking care of. It has been amazing.

In the midst of loss we are often reminded of what we have been given. I have been given so much I can hardly express it without tears of joy. Three of the greatest gifts I've been given are my guys. I love them so much! Joey is an incredible husband. He has been such a great support and encouragement. I love his heart for the world as well as the joy he finds in life. I can't imagine life without him and I am so thankful that for now I don't have to, hopefully we will have many, many, many more years together. And my two little chickens, Josiah & Benson. They are such a joy and blessing. I love watching them learn and hearing them laugh. I love it when they do something naughty and they know it - oh my word I can hardly keep myself from giggling at them! Each of them is a special gift and I am so thankful to know them and honored to be part of their lives.

My guys goofing off on a Sunday morning.

It is Now 2009, a new year. Life just keeps moving, already we are in the middle of January! Being reminded of God's faithfulness was a good way to end the year. As we move forward we look back and remember. I can hardly wait to see what all He has in store! I don't know when we'll get a chance to chat again, but I hope its soon! Until then I hope your new year is off to a great start and I look forward to seeing what comes next!