11 Weeks...

Now, I am 11 weeks along and here are some things (pregnancy-related) that happened this week.

• Cried for no apparent reason several times.


• Managed to catch an awful cold.


• Have had 3 fitful nights of sleep, since breathing is difficult.


• Watched my belly get fatter. Maybe I will post a belly picture. I always love looking at other peoples' belly pictures, but I feel self-conscious now that it's my belly. I just feel like it still just looks like I'm packing some extra pounds and not an extra person. Just telling you now: no bare belly pictures for me!


• Got a couple of pimples.


• Eaten like a horse.


• Baby is now 2 inches long (head to rump)


• is growing hair follicles


• is growing fingernail beds


• hands and feet are now in front of the body


• ears are in final location


• nasal passages have opened


• has a tongue and palate in its mouth


• has ovaries (obviously if it's a girl)

So, things have been busy! I haven't eaten as much ice cream as last week, but I have been enjoying saltine crackers with peanut butter. They sounded good, once my mother-in-law mentioned that she had eaten them when she was pregnant.

I haven't had any crazy cravings, but I like the taste of sweet things and cheese. Typically, I will choose savory over sweet, but not at the moment.

Life is good and I still can't believe this is happening!

So Much to Do...

I am extremely grateful because I don't have to work on Friday or Monday, so four day weekend, here I come!

However, the time is packed, my friends.

The teachers got paid yesterday, so we all make the obligatory trip to the bank to get some cash today. Every month when I get paid, we need to go in and take out enough cash to pay our rent and our driver. Today will be the last time we withdraw money for our driver. We are firing him and here is why:

1. It's a lot of money and we don't use him enough to justify keeping him. It was great when Huzz was going to work everyday, too, but he's not. It seems quite extravagant, especially when times are tough.
2. He has become increasingly lazier during the last few months. You would think that since he's hardly working for us that when he does, he would be on top of his game. But he's not. When he takes us somewhere, he leaves until we call him to come back and get us. This would be all well and good if he was within 5 minutes away, but it's not uncommon for him to be 15-20 minutes, so we are left standing outside, waiting for him.
3. His driving makes me sick. Literally. I seem to get carsick every time I ride with him now. I know that my condition is the main reason for this, but seriously, his driving is erratic, at best. He slams on the brakes and takes turns really fast and cuts people off. Not only am I sick by the time I get to our destination, but I'm also exhausted from all of the intense big P's I'm sending up the whole time.
4. Speaking of slamming on the brakes, his brakes have been rubbing raw and squealing (I've never heard brakes squeak this loudly before) for over 6 weeks now and he hasn't gotten them fixed. A little bit of a safety concern, there.
5. Secret reason: I am hoping that with the money we'll save from 2 months of not paying the driver, we could maybe go someplace during the last two weeks we're here, just for a few days. However, I know Huzz is probably just thinking, "Look at all the money we'll save!"

So, once we get the money, Huzz is going to let him go. We have arranged to have one of our friends nearby just in case Mr. Driver has a raging fit. He has exhibited some anger issues in our presence before, so we are taking precautions.

Anyway, tonight, Matthew and Sonia have invited the group over for shepherd's pie and apple crumble. Yes, please!

Tomorrow, we are going to the store to get all items needed for the Italian feast I will be making for 3 other couples on Saturday night.

And on Saturday morning, I am going to put all my trust in Him and get my bloodwork done for my pregnancy. I'm nervous because:

1. I don't speak Russian
2. They do things very differently here in the medical world than they do back home.

Sorry about the lists today. I like them.

So, Saturday night, there will be dinner for 8 at our apartment. I've helped my mom countless times with dinner parties, but I've never done one myself for more than 4 people.

No dishwasher = really fun times after everyone has left!

Probably church on Sunday morning. If not, it is because we'll be going to see Big Almaty Lake with our friends. We're trying to organize a trip there, but don't know which day it will be yet.

Anyway, an event-packed weekend! What are you all up to this weekend?

The Weekend Top 10...

1. Enjoyed apple crumble with some of our friends at Matt & Sonia's. And I got to hold baby Billie.

2. In bed by 11:30 on Friday night and slept until 9:00 on Saturday morning.

3. Went to Koktobe (essentially a hill that overlooks the city) and had some chicken shashlik (kebab) and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

4. Got on the tramway to go up to Koktobe and then immediately off, due to a power outage. I am extremely thankful the power went off before we found ourselves halfway across, stuck 100 feet in the air.

5. Rode the tramway back down from Koktobe to the city center and sent up some serious big P's the whole way.

6. Made pancakes and a cheese omelette for Sunday lunch and split a grapefruit with Huzz. Delicious.

7. Took a four hour nap after said lunch.

8. Needed the four hour nap because Huzz and I stayed up until 3:30 am on Saturday night, talking about how we are going to go about firing our driver. We are slightly stressed out about it.

9. Spent the final two hours on Sunday night, dreading work the next morning.

10. Watched a peacock do his mating dance at Koktobe. Did you know they vibrate their feathers? The female ran away, clearly disturbed. I would have been, too.

10 Weeks...

Today, I am 10 weeks along this little journey.

Clothes continue to get tighter. I've been wearing my maternity work pants all week and they are not falling down. And they are comfortable.

I don't know if I'll ever go back to normal pants again.

Here's what the baby updater is telling me for this week:
Your baby (now the size of a prune) has small indentations on his legs (soon to be knees and ankles!), and tiny buds of baby teeth are forming under the gums. His stomach and kidneys are kicking into gear, producing digestive juices and urine, and if it's a boy, his testes are making testosterone (how manly!).

When I read things like that and then look in the mirror and know that from the outside, you can't tell that any of that is going on, I stand in awe at our Creator. I know that the miracle of pregnancy and birth and all that jazz has been going on since the beginning of time, but it really still is a miracle, isn't it? Just amazing. And now, to think that it is actually happening to me leaves me speechless. I know...hard to believe.

Even though billions of women have given birth, many women have gone through extreme turmoil and distress and heartache because of birth. It can happen too early, the baby can get sick, infections, stress, defects...the list goes on. As a first-time pregnant woman, these are scary things, but I just have to Believe that He will protect me and my baby and everything that happens is His will.

If you think of it, please send up a big P for one of the teachers I work with. His name is Eugene. His wife lives back in his old country and was seven months pregnant and she had a stillbirth on Monday. He has gone back to be with her and I cannot imagine the pain they are experiencing.

Anyway, I hope you all have a great weekend. In just 2 short weeks, I will be through my first trimester already!

A Dream I Hope Never Comes True...

Two nights ago, I had the strangest dream. I mean crazy. Bizarre.

I dreamt I had the baby and it (I think it was a boy in the dream, but I don't know for sure) was just a few days old and we were on vacation with my family. I don't know where we were, but it doesn't matter.

Scene One: In our hotel room. I'm sitting on the bed, holding our baby and Stephen walks in with another baby. It looks just like the one in my arms, but instead of being normal skin colored, it has a greenish-yellow tint to it.

Me: What is that?

Huzz: It's our clone baby!

Me: What? Where did it come from?

Huzz: Well, now, when you have a baby, they give you a clone baby, too!

Me: What? For what?

Huzz: To practice on and stuff. I don't know.

Me: Do we keep it forever?

Huzz: No, I think only for a few days.

Me: No! Absolutely not! Give it back to the nurse now! That is crazy!

Huzz: (Looks confused and like I'm the crazy one.) Okay. (He puts it in another room.)

Scene Two: We walk around wherever we're on vacation for the day and I'm just carrying the baby. It's quiet and honestly, pretty weird looking. We go to a restaurant to eat dinner. We sit down at a back table in a corner.

Me: Mom! I haven't fed this child yet today!

Mom: Well, you better get started.

Me: Is he okay???

Mom: I don't know - just feed the child!

Me: (I start feeding it and I'm really relieved that he's eating. I FORGOT TO FEED MY BABY.)

Huzz walks in with the clone baby.

Me: Get that clone baby out of here now!!!

Huzz looks to my mom for help and she, too, thinks I'm overreacting.

Mom: Stephen, based on Beth's reaction, I think you should just give the clone baby back to the hospital.

Huzz exits.

And that was my dream.

Thankfully, last night's dreams were uneventful.

9 Weeks...

I know I've been MIA for several days. This first week back at school was a doozy. My job is exhausting enough as it is, but it is kicking my booty now that I'm prego. I am what the British say, "knackered."

No belly picture yet, as you can't see anything yet. I'm thinking I'll start to show a little bit during the next couple of weeks. My pants are getting tighter and tighter and I can no longer button my beautiful Ann Taylor suit pants for work. I am making great use of those big safety pins! Although, the pants are so tailored that they don't lay nicely when I'm a good two inches from being able to fully close them. I caught one of my students looking at my stomach area the other day and I looked down and noticed my long enough shirt was hitched up a little too far and you could see my safety pin concoction. I quickly turned and faced the whiteboard and fixed myself.

Thankfully, my students are eight and they don't think too much into things.

I've decided I'm not going to tell them I'm having a baby until I get much fatter. I mostly don't want their parents to know. They are pretty intrusive, as it is, and I'd like to keep them from touching my tummy for as long as possible.

I am feeling...okay. I am extremely grateful that I'm not sick all the time. But I constantly feel...blah. You know that feeling you get when you've been eating too much and you're really lethargic? That's me - all the time. I am really thirsty all the time. I get waves of weirdness and I just want to lay down. I'm just feeling fat at this point. I know I'm not getting fat, but it's how I feel and really, it's how I look right now. It will be nice to get to the point where you can tell that there's a baby in there and not just another layer of insulation.

Anyway, that's the update from me. I hear and I've seen some pictures of the great April blizzard of '09 back in Colorado! Looks like fun! It should help the dry situation there and hopefully no water restrictions when we get to our house there and can water our lawn!

Lovely Jane...

Dear Friends,


Our dear family friend, Jane, has left this Earth. And right now, she is dancing with Our Father!


I do feel so badly for Jane's husband, Mel, and Jane's mother and rest of her family that is still here. Their lives will have a hole that Jane has filled for so many years.


But, I am also happy for Jane. She has suffered through years of pain and misery and frustration with her body.


I read this post from Beth Moore about Life and Death recently. Please read it because it phrased so perfectly what death is like for Believers.


Please lift up Jane's family on Tuesday, as they celebrate her life.

Meow!!!

We are letting the cat out of the bag...

NOVEMBER 2009!!!

We're Ba-ack...

We got back to the big K yesterday morning at 6:30 and have just been recovering ever since. I haven't posted in a few days because I haven't been feeling well.

On Tuesday evening, we went to the Four Seasons Hotel for dinner because we had read that they have the best hotel restaurant in Istanbul. Not hard to believe, really. And everything was delicious, including the complimentary appetizer the chef sent out to us that was a shrimp cake topped with gnocci. Then, we had sweet corn lobster bisque. Ummmm, hello! So yummy. We shared a little pasta starter: tagliatelle with cream sauce and mushrooms. And I had lamb shanks for my main course and Huzz had the Sea Bass. And then for dessert, we shared the warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. And it was the kind of cake the oozed out rich chocolate fudge when you cut into it.

The next morning, I woke up with 5 mosquito bites on my arm, around my elbow. Well, I thought they were mosquito bites, but they quickly spread all over my body, focusing on my head and ears. I got hives.

I remedied the situation by taking Benadryl regularly until we got back yesterday, but I was still miserable and they seemed to be getting worse. So, I called the medical clinic and we went in. The doctor gave me another histamine blocker to use with the Benadryl and I think I'm slowly getting better. Since last night, the hives have focused on my hands, though. My fingers are about twice their normal size and look like sausages and they itch so bad!

We are going to a play tonight at the local college with our friends, Matt & Jonna. I am just hoping I can focus on the play and not scratch myself to death during the performance.

I will try to post the rest of my pictures from Istanbul and finish telling stories. I have another pretty funny story, involving an aqueduct and a shoe shine!

Dolmabahce Palace...

The picture below is not Dolmabahce Palace, but actually the Dolmabahce Mosque, which is just down the street from the Palace. We didn't go in the Mosque, but just took a picture as we went by.

Here is us in front of the Palace gates. Dolmabahce Palace is another palace where Sultans ruled from. This one isn't as old, as it was used mostly between the mid-1850's to the 1920's.

We got lucky and were able to see the changing of the guards as we approached the palace.

That was kind of neat.

Here is one of the guard's posts: standing on this platform, in front of the gate. He was like a Buckingham Palace guard. He didn't move at all.

This is the gate that the Sultan would go out of if he needed to go in towards land from the palace. As you can see, it is a very small gate.

And this is the gate the Sultan would leave out of if he wanted to go out to the water side of the palace. The palace sits right along the Bosphorus Strait, as you can see right behind Huzz.

I thought this was a neat sculpture in the garden: a lion tackling an alligator to the ground.

The palace is so huge, it's impossible to get it all in one picture and show the immensity of it. This is one side of the palace. As you can see, it stretches back really far.

So, we went on an English tour, which was slightly frustrating, as there was a group of ladies who would not keep their yappers shut while our tour guide told us about the various things in the palace. But here is an up close of the banister at the Crystal Staircase. Pretty impressive.

And here is most of the Crystal Staircase, in its entirety, including massive chandelier.

The palace was extremely ornate and expansive. Every room had massive chandeliers and intricate paintings on the celing. Columns everywhere, and arched doorways. This was a dining room, of some sort.

Again, the quality of the pictures isn't great, as there was no flash photography allowed, but here is a fireplace that made me think of my Grandma Evelyn. The colors reminded me of her, I think.

This is in the Sultan's bathroom. It was all carved marble, everywhere.

This is the ceiling in the final great room of the tour. The ceiling was very high and the painting was extremely detailed.

This room was Huzz's favorite part of what we visited in Istanbul. It was a really impressive room, I have to say!

This is the chandelier in the great hall area.

Here we are in front of another gate that leads out to the water when we came out of the tour.

I was shocked by the immensity of everything.

Even though the palace was very beautiful and impressive, it was a little sad to think about what the Sultans' family's lives were like. For one thing, the Sultans had several wives. When we visited the "Harem" (living quarters), there were 8 wives' apartments, where they would live individually with their children. And there was a hierarchy with their status. I can imagine it was a pretty lonely life.

Anyway, that is the Dolmabache Palace!

Stellan...

Today is a big P day. Well, what day isn't, really? But today, baby Stellan joined Huzz and I on our bus tour around Istanbul. Stellan's mommy has a name gallery going on her website and you should check it out. People from all over the world are sending up big P's for this little guy. His story is remarkable and right now, he is in great need of healing.

We are about to head to get something to eat. If I'm not too tired afterwards, I'll be posting a little bit. I am quite the procrastinator!

Big P's Needed...

I had a dream last night about our good family friend, Jane. Jane has had MS for as long as I can remember, but I think she's only in her very early 60's. I dreamt that I was at a Starbucks and Jane came in (walked in, not wheeled in) with her mother and her baby in a baby carriage. I said hi and held the baby. In real life, Jane does not have any children, which is why I was really excited in the dream. That was about it. Just a snippet.

When I woke up this morning, I checked my email and my mom had written to say that Mel (Jane's husband) had called to say that Jane is in the hospital and has been comatose for 30 hours. He is just praying that the Father would bring her Home, as she has been completely bed-ridden for the last 4-6 weeks. Her quality of life is nothing now.

Mel and Jane are such strong Believers and their trust in Him is so admirable. I know Mel will be heartbroken without his Jane, but I know he also has full confidence that Jane will be spending forever with our real Father and he will see her again soon.

Please keep Mel and Jane in your thoughts and big P's. They are dear friends to our whole family.

Huzz and I are off to go on a city bus tour today - double decker! We were planning on going to the Prince's Islands today, but didn't get up early enough. We are being very lazy!

I will try to post later tonight about some more things that we've been doing during the last few days.

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Aya Sofya...

Remember the other day, I told you we walked by the Haghia Sophia Mosque? Well, on Wednesday, we spent the 20 Lira a piece (about $12) and spent a couple of hours inside. And let me tell you, it was beautiful.

According to hagiasophia.com, "Rebuilt by the orders of Emperor Justinian in 537, for 900 years Hagia Sophia had been the center of Orthodox Christianity until 1453 when the city was concurred by Ottomans. 500 years following the conquest of Muslims, it became a jewel for the Muslim world and as the grand mosque of the sultans."

(I think they meant "conquered", not "concurred".)

The Mosque is so large that it is impossible to fit it all in one picture, but here is a little part of it. The whole building is made of stone. The workmanship is so intricate, it is hard to believe. One of the things we learned is that it was constructed in less than 6 years!

This is the door that only Emperors were allowed to enter through. I walked through it. It was huge!

The main thing that struck me while visiting the Mosque was the sheer immensity of the building. Archway after archway led to room after room, detailed with stone inlays and mosaics and hand-painted designs. And oh my, it was chilly in there!

Here is Huzz standing in front of something. I don't know what it was, but it was roped off, so it must've been important.

And me.

Oh, and I apologize for the lack of quality with some of the pictures. No flash photography was permitted, so some of them is the best I could get with the lighting provided.

I mean, seriously, look at all the archways. The super detailed paintings on the walls and ceilings just didn't seem to end.

We went up to the second story and took a look down below. Look at the height of the people compared to the rest of it. And I couldn't fit about twice as much height above this in my shot!

Here is one of the mosaics. This is Emperor Zoe, apparently.

More columns and archways and astonishing architecture.

This is one of the hallways upstairs. I just loved the painting on the ceiling. That's Huzz, walking in the tan jacket.

Just some neat facts. See, I told you it was huge!

This is the Mosaic of the Virgin Mary

And this is a fountain, just outside the Mosque. The sign said it was used to cleanse yourself before you entered the presence of God. Funny, I thought that that's why you enter His presence because only He can actually do that for you.

So, as you can see, we are learning a lot and seeing a lot! There is definitely so much history here that is keeping us busy. I have been so exhausted at nighttime that I don't have the strength to blog, but I'll keep trying to post while we're here, I promise!

PS ~ On Wednesday, I took 176 pictures of Hagia Sophia, so I just chose some of my favorites to share with you. When we get back to the States, I'll be more than happy to show anyone who's interested all of the pictures. We could pop popcorn and put up the projector screen. It would be awesome. I am cool, guys. Really, I am!