30April2011 Quickshot: Wilderness

P, J and Z went camping this week for P's birthday.  Check out their campsite!

28 April 2011 14beautifulfeet.com & 10littlefeet.com - Thank you "Hamseh"!

In honor of reaching over 20K views on our website and more importantly the impending, Novemberish, arrival of the newest member of Team Beautiful Feet, nicknamed "Hamseh" (Arabic for 5) we've changed our blog titles to 14beautifulfeet.com and 10littlefeet.com respectively.  Ain't God good!

26April2011 Quickshot: Goin Green

Since we've been overseas we have definitely become more "eco-friendly." Besides taking showers that are over before they start, walking a lot more and not using a heat pump, we also use the highly efficient clothes dryer below! After all, sunshine is rampantly abundant and the clothes smell wonderful when we put them on!

24April2011 Quickshot: Risen

This photo was taken from inside the empty tomb in Jerusalem.  He is risen indeed!

23April2011 Dyeing & Decorating

Here are some photos from our family dyeing eggs today. Check out pictures from our egg hunt on the kids' blog here.

22April2011 Easter Bakin'

Here are some more shots of D's craftsmanship in the kitchen.   Today's result:  Easter Cupcakes....and a very happy baker.

21April2011 Quickshot: Goin' Bananas

A banana "orchard" not too far from our house. 

19April2011 Quickshot: Comfort Cookin'

You know D's missing home when she starts baking.  The result of yesterday's comfort cooking was homemade strawberry cobbler.  Yes!

17April2011 Palms

Maybe you remember in previous posts us mentioning a girls' school across the street from our house.  Beside the school in an old, stone building where an Orthodox Christian Church meets.  Today they were having a Palm Sunday service and following said service, which included some very beautiful music by the way, the laity came out of the building carrying bouquets of flowers and palm branches. 
Each person placed their greenery on the ground, forming a small path adjacent to the building.  As M and I were watching this, I noticed a mother pushing a baby stroller with two small children lagging behind her.  She was fully covered in long black dress, black gloves and matching black burqa hiding everything but her eyes.  I waited to see her reaction to the scene unfolding nearby.  She merely looked to her right, over the fence surrounding the Church, for a second then turned her gaze forward and continued walking. 

I was struck by this imagery.  A large group of followers commemorating the triumphal entry of their King and a mother of three, adhering to a different set of beliefs, merely 20 yards apart, separated only by a stone wall.  Of course, the thing truly setting them apart is the belief in this celebrated King.  My prayer for this Season is that Churches around the world, just like this one, will open their doors, their arms and their hearts to folks that are different.  And that this lady and scores and scores of others, just like her,  are drawn near to the triumphantly entering King and their lives are changed forever. 

16April2011 Quickshot: A Plus and a Minus

Plus:  Our children have become very close and spend a lot of time hanging out.  Z. and A. though roughly 6 years apart in age love playing together. 

Minus:  Notice A.'s left eye?  It's swollen because he got bit by a mosquito on his eye brow.  There aren't a lot of mosquitoes around here but the 8 that do exist live in our apartment and come out at night to feast on any exposed skin. 

14April2011 Quickshot: Counting Sheep

12April2011 Quickshot: Cave trip

The school called this a "field trip" but P & Z spent the day study rocks and crawling around in bat guano-filled caves.  They loved it.....not so much the smell though!

10April2011 Quickshot: Almond brothers

P and one of the neighborhood boys picked the almonds from a tree behind our apartment.  Our friends here eat them like candy, shell and all. 

8April2011 Do you know the Muffin Men?

We bought a box of cereal and it was AWFUL. What do you do with terrible tasting cereal, why you make muffins out of it of course. Chef A and his father whipped out some of the tastiest muffins you ever tasted and had a blast doing it!

6April2011 In the Name of the Father

Quick Cultural Note:  When a man's wife has their firstborn son his name changes.  For example when our friend, Jamal, had a little boy, Abdullah, his name became Abu Abdullah or "father of Abdullah."  His son is called Abdullah bin Jamal or "son of Jamal."  Just think about these implications.  A man's actions have implications for his son and likewise a boy's actions have ramifications for his father because they carry one another's name.  Did you catch that?  I find it astounding!

As a son, I carry my Father's Name with me everywhere I go.  My actions, my speech and even my thoughts impact His reputation.  If my neighbors hear me arguing with my wife or see me hitting my children or if my friends witness me being intoxicated or high or if my coworkers watch me lie and cheat to get ahead their opinion of my Father is influenced.  What a grave responsibility!

At the same time it is so encouraging to know that Dad carries my name around as well.  I am constantly on His mind and He is always seeking the best for me. 

4April2011 Quickshot: Parkin'

Our friends here love parks.  On the weekends and on weeknights during the summer, spots like this one are PACKED with families picnicking and hanging out until the wee hours of the night.  

2April2011 Spinning!

The last week has been a doozy!  D started feeling dizzy and a bit nauseous one evening and the next thing we knew she was incapacitated and bedridden.  Thank God we found a good doctor, educated in Texas (God bless Texas!) and with excellent English.  He diagnosed her with an inner ear infection and prescribed some medicine.  She's been taking it for a couple days now and was actually able to get out of bed and sit on the couch this morning.  D is supposed to be back to 100% within a couple weeks.  We're grateful for the prayers of family and friends.