Nemo & Youfish

Two weeks ago Joey came home with some fish. There was a guy selling them on the street corner in town. they looked exciting so Joey got them. The boys named them "Nemo" and "Youfish" (Youfish is how they say Youssef - Joey's name in Arabic).

The boys were SO excited about the fish. Josiah would randomly come up to Joey and say "I love you Daddy because you brought us fish." It was too cute. Unfortunately, as is the case with fish, Nemo didn't live with us too long. After a short 3 days he succumbed to some unnamed disease and became dinner for the local cats. Youfish is still with us though and happy as a clam. He lives in our living room and makes our lives better just by blowing bubbles. Gotta love fish.

We've also been lucky enough to spend some time with animals that actually let you touch them and snuggle them. This baby goat loved all the attention. His mother however didn't enjoy it too much. She spent much of the time screaming for us to keep our hands off her kid.

Bsara

We had a favorite lunch the other day. "Bsara" which is split peas that they cook into a thick paste/soup type dish. Its full of garlic and cumin and SO good. Pour a bit of fresh olive oil over it, dip your bread and away you go. We also got to have fresh fish. Another favorite. Benson likes to just start at the tail or the head and work his way down. Josiah is a bit more careful and at this point William isn't very interested at all. 

I'm so thankful for boys who love the food here!

Ruby Tuesday and Other Random Thoughts.

I love that song by the Rolling Stones - Ruby Tuesday. Actually, if I'm honest I really enjoy classic rock period. Oldies, slightly younger oldies and quality 80's & 90's hits. I can thank my Dad for my general love of music. He knows more about oldies than anyone I know and made sure his kids had a good general knowledge of the classics. Including random historical information like what was happening the first time he heard such and such a song and what songs were on the B side of the record. Important stuff.

Its raining. No power. A team of 9 volunteers here to help us out. Those three things put together make for an interesting morning. So far so good. We're just going about business as usual and hoping it clears up real soon.

My right ear is plugged and making funny bubbling sounds. Not entirely sure what that means, but its weird. Thankfully I can still hear and thankfully I've never lost my hearing. Seriously, what a blessing to be able to hear. Something I know I take forgranted daily.

This volunteer team brought us some new printer cartraiges. So we can start printing things again. My life is going to be so much easier! Except for today, cuz there is no power. But otherwise so much easier!

My Mother-in-law also sent some Jelly Bellies with this team. You know the full size costco Jelly Bellies?! Amazing. Nothing like them here. I am keeping them on top of my fridge, where they are hard to reach so that I can make them last. Its hard though, they are SO good.

My sleepy-heads just woke up to start their day which means I should stop with this random mumbling and get going. Hope you're all having a wonderful day!

A Fast Connection, And A Few Photos.

A few from the road a few days ago. I love the way the hills look as the sun is setting. These days the greens are mixing with the wild flowers to create one of the most beautiful views ever.

Joey reading with the "cheese" king. Pull out a camera or phone and he's posing immediately.

 A while back Joey saw a guy standing on the side of the road, nothing too unusual in these parts, what was unusual was his backpack, so Joey picked him up and sure enough he was a traveler from Italy. He came and stayed with us for a few days. His English was broken and his Arabic limited, but he was a hard worker and grateful guest. Gotta love the surprises that you find on the side of the road.

 Benson with his chocolate eye art. Yum, yum.

Josiah, such a cool dude.

Hope to post more photos and updates soon. Happy Weekend!

Yesterday

When I was a little girl I remember hearing a story from my mom about sewing through her thumb while using her sewing machine. I vaguely remember something about her calling my Dad to come help and he took a while not knowing what was going on, but finally got there and saved her from the dreaded machine. Honestly I don't know if the story was true, or just a scare tactic to keep us kids away from the amazing machine, either way every time I sew I think about that story and pay attention to where my fingers are at all times. Except yesterday...

Joey and I were talking while I mended a pair of pants for a friend. I looked over at Joey to comment on something he said and next thing I know my finger is shooting pain. Yep, you guessed it, I sewed through the tip of my finger. I still have this surreal image of my finger with the sewing needle poking through the middle of the fingernail. I tried to quickly pull my finger out, but it was stuck. I cried out for Joey to come and asked him to pull my finger off. He didn't want to, it was just too much to see his wife impaled on the end of a needle. Ok, his wife's finger. So he held my other hand while I closed my eyes and pulled my finger off of the needle. Ouch. I had thought the needle was just in a little bit, but Joey later told me he could see the needle sticking out of the bottom of my finger. Uh, Yuck. All is better now. All I am left with is a mark on the top of my fingernail, a sore finger tip and a good story to tell my children!

Pictures!

The internet connection this morning is GREAT so I jumped on and uploaded a few photos. Nothing too exciting, just a few glimpses into life. Things are going great and we're really getting settled. Yesterday we took a family trip to McDonalds and a major store to get a few things to finish the settling in process. It was a beautiful day and a nice trip.

 William found his favorite toy as soon as we got here. An old walker with a steering wheel. What could make a boy happier?!

 As usual our favorite past time is to climb along the wall and drive cars while watching people, sheep and big vans drive by.

 We were able to go have "hot chocolate pastries" with the boys last weekend. The key to eating these pastries is to start in the middle and eat out all the chocolate, leaving the fluffy pastry part for your little baby brother :-)

 You also have to be sure to have hot milk while eating pastries. Trust me its the only way.

 An amazing thing happened last weekend. I made the most incredible macaroni and cheese - with Moroccan slimy cheese! Seriously this was a cheese sauce that Eggs Benedict dreams about. So good. My life in Morocco is now perfect.

William got new shoes and as a result has not stopped walking since. They are pretty stinkin' awesome don't you think?!

The boys also got a new bedroom. We moved them all into one room with bunk-beds. They are SO excite to have their own place. They keep telling everyone about it. I am happy to have at least one room in our house all swept and clean. Its really inspiring for the rest of the house :-)

There you go a few pictures to give a glimpse into life. Have a great week!

Home Again, Home Again. Fly Away Home.

A week ago yesterday we arrived at our house in Morocco. Its hard to believe its been a week and at the same time its hard to believe it hasn't been longer! We had a great trip, that took a total of 4 days. The boys loved getting to travel by plane, train & taxi. They are all such good travelers, we've been really blessed.

Since we've been here we've had the chance to connect with friends, enjoy incredible Moroccan foods and eat our fair share of the most amazing oranges ever. Honestly they are so good, its hard to keep my mouth from watering just thinking about them. Yum!

Today we're headed up to a party to celebrate the birth of a new little baby to our dear friends. They've killed a sheep and there will be more coke & cookies than should be in one place. It is really going to be great. I am looking forward to seeing friends and enjoying watching all the ladies interact.

I tried to upload photos, but our connection seems to be a bit slow this morning. Thought I'd get this off just the same so you that sometimes stop by might know how we're doing...more to come!