A World without walls
everyday life while homeschooling overseas
Andrew and I had a special experience last night. He had finished his reading reward card, so it was his turn to go out for a donut. This time, though, we didn't wait for Peter to go to sleep. Devin was quietly reading to Peter, and Josh and Claire were quietly reading, so Andrew and I snuck out.
When we got out, though, I realized that we were going to encounter a problem. The sun was still up. The Ramadan fast was still going on. Now, while we're not participating in that, it's not only not good to eat in public, most restaurants aren't even open until sundown! Andrew and I walked slowly up the hill toward the circle, and while we were waiting to cross the busy street, I had an idea: Inside Abdoun circle are some nice benches and trees and a sort of amphitheater area. So, we sat down on a short cement wall inside the circle to wait out the sunset! We had a great time! We watched all the cars go past--we talked about all the cool 'stormchaser' cars that went by. LOTS of SUVs and big trucks! It was a busy time, since everyone was hurrying home for Iftar (that's the name of their evening feast that breaks the day's fast). It was so fun to get excited about 'cool cars and trucks' with my little boy! Then we turned around and faced the sunset and watched the sun set--in the middle of a busy traffic circle in the Middle East--and listened for the call to prayer to name the time to eat! It was so cool! At one point, Andrew put his arm around me and said, "I love being out here with you, mom!" Man, I just love my kids!! Unfortunately, the spell was broken, because Andrew had to go to the bathroom. So we went over to the donut shop so Andrew could go. We noticed LOTS of people outside of McDonald's (right next door to the donut shop)--most of them had food in front of them waiting to be eaten once the prayer call rolled out! Some of those people had to have 3 or 4 SUPER SIZED meals sitting in front of them! Gah! Seriously--I can't think of a worse meal to eat at the end of a long day of fasting... Anyway, aside from the gross overeating of McDonald's food, Andrew and I had a lovely time! He got a nice donut and enjoyed every bite while we talked about all sorts of things! :) I asked him what he'd like to do next year, and he told me he wants to have an evacuation drill again (like I did when I took the kids to Petra for a few days)--this time it would be a tornado warning, so we would be prepared, just in case. Good idea. Luckily, we live in the basement, so we're already in a good spot. :) It was a lovely evening to round off an equally lovely day! In the morning, I got to go houseplant shopping with some friends--we had a BLAST!!! I got so many lovely plants for my house! I even got a spider plant, and I'm SOOOO excited to have the little spider plant babies and show the kids how to make them! I remember that my grandma always had spider plants and she always had little spider plant babies in cups of water in the kitchen! I told the kids that we could learn how to do that (I bought an ivy plant, too, and some other little plants that you can grow the cutoffs), and then give the little baby plants away to friends for housewarming gifts or presents or things...put them in pretty decorated cups or pots... Claire squealed when I mentioned that, so I think she thinks it's a good idea! She loves to think of things to give to people. I think it's a cool skill to know. We're going to spend the whole morning tomorrow morning planting many of the outdoor plants that I bought (like jasmine and herbs and daisies)! SO FUN!! I'm looking at my new rubber plant right now and enjoying the idea that I have live plants in my house! Hopefully, I'll learn how to take care of them! My kitchen looks fantastic with houseplants up on the top of the cupboards! I need to take some pictures and post them, because it makes me happy. Today, we had a nice laid-back Sabbath day. We went to church and that was nice. After church, we had a 'branch choir' rehearsal that was SO FUN!! I had Devin announce that we were going to have a branch choir rehearsal for a performance next Friday, and anyone who wanted to sing was welcome. In the past, I must admit, many choirs have given me a bitter taste. I had one choir I sang in that I loved, but that was the exception. However, today, as I began playing the piece we're singing, from behind me, I heard a CHOIR! I heard LOTS of people singing! I was SO shocked that I really messed up and had to turn around to look! :D I had a group of about 15-20 people that were just really singing and enjoying themselves and it was so awesome! Wasn't perfect, but it was HAPPY! And that makes a world of difference to me! :) I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a huge fan of ward/branch choirs...but today was FUN. I could get used to that. I like fun!
1 Comment
mom
7/22/2013 07:12:48 am
Sounds exotic and fun! I'm so grateful that you are doing so many amazing things to make life interesting, meaningful, and full of love for each other. Living in the moment is so important! With our high speed lives we all too often forget to do that.
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Who Am I?
As a Stay At Home Mom of 4 wonderful children, I have the amazing opportunity not only to home school them, but to do so in many different places! I am married to the most amazingly wonderful (and handsome) man in the whole world! Together, we seek out, every day, that Joy in the Journey that makes life exciting! Archives
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Emily's books
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