The Jolliff Family

"Jesus Qa'am" or "Jesus Rose Up" is what we celebrate today and all year long as we think upon the sacrifice for all mankind that Jesus Christ made.  I was really feeling sad this morning not being in a congregation singing praise songs in English.  However, I was truly blessed during services this morning when I could read the Arabic script and knew the words to three of the songs.  It was a blessing from the Lord on Easter morning. When we arrived home from church, the boys had baskets waiting for them.  They each received a new fire hat and some candy a friend gave to us. Sweet Andrew proudly proclaimed this morning "no, Jesus isn't still dead he is out of the cave." And Sam proclaimed "yea, today is Jesus's birthday."  Ha, just keeping it real! Jacob didn't know what to do with the eggs besides throw them and so he did! We all took a rest this afternoon with the windows open, it was such a beauti...

The BMI of our town just went up by 2 points! Yep, that's right, a fast food American chain has opened up and it was hopping with locals when Hap and I went to eat lunch this afternoon.  An American restaurant is a first for our town.  The restaurant opened a few weeks ago, was clean and even had a great play place in the back for kids. I went a little sceptical, not expecting the food to be any good.  Frankly, I can't remember the last time I ate KFC even in the States but desperate times call for desperate measures, so we went.  Looking over the menu was impressive.  Instead of each meal coming with mashed potatoes, the meals come with bread (which turned out to be a bun!).  Basically the menu was the same fried stuff as in the States, so we got into the mob to order our food. I commented to Hap that the downfall of this place to me might be the lack of lines.  People were desperately trying to figure out a way to get their chicken the f...

We have had a fun-filled 24 hours around our house!! Sam has been wanting to bake cookies like my mom makes and last night was the perfect time to do it together.  The boys pulled up chairs and helped out so much.  They were great listeners and worked so well together to get the cookies made! Team work!! Of course, their favorite part was licking the beaters! As I rolled the cookies out and put sugar on them, the boys worked hard to unwrap the kisses and a few hugs.  I told them not to eat any and they didn't, so they were rewarded with a chocolate kiss! Sam was so thrilled that he was able to stay up past his bedtime and make cookies. What a sweet time we had together last night. Then this morning, after Hap played with the boys downstairs and I went on a walk, the boys and I got out chalk and bubbles to play with.  The chalk with a big hit! But the bubbles were Jacob's favorite. Andrew would blow the bubbles and...

Jacob had some vaccinations today but he did really great.  He will have to go back in a month to have some more since we are behind schedule.  Here is a picture of my sweet boy from yesterday! And the brother shot.  I just love it, I guess because I love these boys! Oh, and of course, I love my biggest guy!!

One year ago today we arrived at an airport tired, excited, nervous, surely we smelled a little, and didn't know what the next day let alone year would hold.  However, we were confident in the fact that for this season of our lives we were supposed to be living in this country. Here we are then... And here we are today, one year later and not as stinky! We certainly all have changed some in outward appearance.  It is amazing to see the differences in the boys when we moved here.  Despite the outward changes we are still confident in the fact that for this season of our lives we are supposed to be in this country.   I can say that over the last year, we have been challenged to begin to adapt to a new culture and way of life.  We have begun to learn a new language that is one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn.  We have been challenged with the changing roles in our family with both of us studying full time and the boys goin...

Welcome to our home... we bought some new furniture and it arrived last night!   We are very pleased with how it turned out and how it looks.  It is all made locally and we like that, too!  I was REALLY nervous about the color of the chairs, if it would be too bright but it adds a lot of nice color to our white walls and we are glad we choose a color and not another neutral.  Also, the fabric is easy to care for and easy to clean if when something gets on it. We have moved a side table to the middle as a coffee table for the time being.  We are always rearranging, so who knows how long this arrangement will last.  We also have an ottoman coming but it won't be ready until at least next week. It isn't super soft, like we are used to in America but we don't mind the firmness.  The couch is long enough for Hap to lay on for a nap and we both like that it is deep for a nap, too! They are kid tested and approved already.  Sam was be...

Just a bunch of random pictures from our last couple days. This little lion isn't as fierce as he looks! Or maybe he is:) Sam is really enjoying coloring these days.  He has gotten so much better at staying inside the lines and works with diligence, much of the time, to complete his paper so nicely.  They do a good many crafts at school and he enjoys that. We have rearranged our house (yet again).  We enjoy moving things around and getting a fresh perspective.  In preparation for new furniture we bought, we moved some of our furniture into the basement and some into our bedroom.  Anyway, we decided it was time to move the astro turf outside but didn't want to put it in the trash.  Hap had the great idea of cutting it to fit the balcony.  Since we might not get any more rain until October or November this is a fun, safe way to play outdoors but still be "in" the house.  After a few initial tears over cutting it, the boys h...