The Jolliff Family

Tonight we had a costume party at the house of our friends. Andrew was a basketball player! Sam was a soccer player! Jacob was the referee! Hap sported his Salem Wildcat shirt and was an athletic trainer.  I was a junior with an ankle injury but I don't have any pictures to prove it! ;) This pictures melts me... Andrew and his friend, the princess ballerina.  So cute! These two crack me up together and love to play with each other (most of the time- just like 2 year olds do!) The cat, the soccer player, the basketball player, the ballerina princess, and the referee had a fun night and so did the rest of us!! I can't go through a single Halloween without thinking of Miss Larimer and her singing every year "H-A- double L- O- W- double E- N spells Halloween!"  If you know the song, you are singing it in your head and I have been all day long :)

We didn't get moved in to the new place just yet and tonight marks our last night in our "house down the hill", as we have dubbed it! I think it is bittersweet for us all!

The boys have been troopers during all the painting and preparation work at the house.  They have watched movies... played firefighter... and helped wash dishes and stuff! We are so thankful for our team who has helped finish things up and also offered to watch the boys so that we could have some uninterrupted work time.  It has been amazing. Hap has been such a hard worker and is a trimming master! Won't be long and I will show you where we live.

We are almost done at the new house up the hill, putting the finishing touches on painting and getting the rest of our belongings out of the apartment.  We still have major organization to do but (hopefully) we will be sleeping there tomorrow night. The house is looking GREAT and I'm finally getting excited!! Happy Monday!

There are so many things that I am going to miss about our apartment when we move.  However, one thing that I am NOT going to miss (at all!) is the parking situation.  Not only do we not have enough space to pull in easily to our spot because the neighbor put a chain and a metal post up but people tend to park in places that make no sense to me. For example, today I was trying to leave with Jacob.  I walked downstairs to see cars parked everywhere and our vehicle (the silver van like vehicle in the back) was blocked in.   (and yes, I just so happened to have my camera in my purse haha!)  I recognized one of the vehicles, so I went upstairs to ask him to move his car.  He came down, proceeded to open the citroen door in front and honk the horn and bang on the hood hoping the owner would come down... classic!  I had to hunt the owner down on the roof of the other building and he said "just give me 10 minutes." That brings me to exhibit B. ...

Boys are truly unique!!   Our boys have more energy than I ever would have imagined.  They love to run and jump off anything they can.  They love to use their imaginations and on any given day could be a firefighter or a daddy going to work.  Our boys love to be outside and in the dirt.  Our boys find the word "bathroom" funny.  They prefer mac and cheese and hotdogs over vegetables any day!  They have bruised shins and arms from their play.  Our boys love to wrestle with each other.   Sometimes I have to remind myself that God created little boys like this and I must choose to embrace the craziness and silliness that comes with three little boys! But underneath these crazy exteriors are little boys that love to cuddle and read a book.  They enjoy art projects and coloring books.  They enjoy a good game of "eye spy" or "Candy Land".  Boys that help around the house and find great pleasure in being helpful...

Remember this just a few weeks ago? It has turned into this and is really beautiful.  More work ahead this weekend so that we can move into our new place before the end of the month!!

Our time with the Hall clan did come to an end last night and it was hard to see them go.   The boys have had an amazing time playing together.  The last time we saw George he wasn't even 1 yet and he is getting ready to turn 3!  Last night the little guys played firefighter together.  It made my heart melt!  It is a "bromance" in the making for sure.  :) Speaking of "bromance"... it was truly a gift to be able to reconnect with all the Halls and mutually encourage one another.   Hap and Tom developed such a wonderful friendship during our time at Northside and commuting to Southern each week and formed an amazing friendship.  And since so many things have taken place in all of our lives over the last almost 2 years since we moved from Indianapolis, words can not express how much of a blessing it was to be together!  We cherish these times together and look forward to the next time we can serve alongside each other. We l...

No words, just full hearts!

I guess I thought I was at faster internet but it will only upload three pictures from our day today. Good thing Sarah was able to hold up this ancient archway or it might have fallen. More pictures and explanations tomorrow, inshallah!

We are back at a place with some quicker internet and I wanted to share a few more pictures of our outing to a Roman city yesterday afternoon. This structure was MASSIVE and was built in honor of a guest visiting this city. These three kids are precious! The sky was so blue and the clouds were so puffy and white, though the air was chilly.  It really felt like fall yesterday. This picture was taken in a large "round about" that lead to several different streets. Lots and lots of columns! Sam found himself a cozy little nook to sit in while the others looked around. Most of the other kids joined him, too :) I should have paid better attention in the 8th grade when we studied for weeks about Greek and Roman gods.  This building was made as a temple for a Roman god and had a large basin in the front for cleansing.  Impressive structure for a statue to sit in! We didn't have enough time to check out the entire city well ...

Today after our meeting the kids put on a little program that they had been working on with the Northside group.  I wish I would have recorded it because they did great.  The kids told the stories from the week, sang a song, and recited their Bible verse for the week.  They kids had a fantastic time. We then all loaded up in a car and went to do some local sight seeing.  We didn't have near enough time to see everything but what we did see what beautiful.  The clouds were amazing.  I took a bunch of pictures that I will share later but just two for tonight due to slow internet!

The kids are having a blast playing with the childcare workers from Northside.  We are SO thankful for their service. They made goggly eyes to remind them of when Paul regained his sight.  They kids loved the craft :)

For some reason this thought hit me the other day while I was cutting up all my vegetables for a salad that in the States we pay we bucks for organic, locally grown vegetables and fruits.  Here, that is the normal for no extra cost.   When things are in season, because they are grown locally, they are available in plenty and for no extra cost.  Of course, when things are not in season they are no available.  Oh, and my salad was really tasty! :)