November 30...Today I'm thankful...

I'm going HOME! We spent literally the entire day packing, cleaning and organizing in anticipation of our trip to the US on December 15. It's horrible and stressful. I hate packing and moving. It's unsettling and tears have been shed by me and the kids. Today Maggie cried when she realized she couldn't take all of her Christmas ornaments with her. We let the kids choose one to take along, and she just couldn't bring herself to do it. It broke my heart.

But, all of this work means that I am going HOME! I love it here, but thinking about going home is filling my heart with joy! There are struggles and stresses there, including some major family upheaval since we left in 2004, but it's still home. Things are familiar. The language is easy! :) And Christmas is a major holiday! It's all good!

So, in spite of the stress of packing and the mess and chaos that is our life right now, I'm so thankful that I'm going home!

November 29...Today I'm thankful for...

My church family. Our church is nearly overrun with children, so some weeks it's insane. Chaotic is a description I use frequently when describing our church. It is certainly full of life! Our new name is fitting in so many ways: Fount of Life Alliance.

We are a daughter church of the larger Alliance church from the Old City. Our make-up is primarily young families. And we are growing! Tonight was our once a month family service, which means the kids stay with the adults for the entire service, and the message is geared to families. It's always noisy and somewhat chaotic. But tonight, as I stood at the back of the church, I was struck by several things.

First of all, I love worshiping in Arabic! I now understand 90% of the worship songs, and can freely worship without trying to figure out what I'm saying. Arabic is beautiful, and there is nothing more beautiful than worshiping God. I love to lose myself in worship.

Another thing that struck me is what good friends I have here. I looked around and my heart felt full as I thought about the blessing so many from this church family have been to me over the last 4 years. I realized how much I will miss so many of them when I return to the US.

Tonight one dear friend told me that she can't imagine our church without us there. She said she thought about what she'll miss the most when our family is in the US and she decided it is my laugh. She said my laugh is genuine, full of joy, and catchy. :) I realized that I do laugh a lot at church, because I am surrounded by so many people that bring me joy.

I praise God for my Palestinian church family. It's a welcoming church. And we are growing and trusting God to find us a bigger place in a different location. What a privilege to serve here with such kind, dedicated people. The laughter is the icing on the cake!

November 28...Today I am thankful for...

PIE! Scot makes the world's most delicious pies, which is great because my Na-na is an expert pie baker and I miss her pies! One day, a few months after moving here, Scot decided to try his hand at pies. He has since mastered pie crust. His pies are to die for. He baked 7 pies for Thanksgiving and our day after Thanksgiving Pie Party. They were YUMMY!

I'm thankful I have a husband who bakes pies. It's such a nice treat. Check 'em out. Drooling? :)

A BOOK PARTY! :)

I'm having a PARTY and you're all invited! :) This isn't my thankful post! I'll be back later today for that. This is my "I'm hostessing an online book party" post! :)

I have a friend (SabraInPA on SS) who is selling books through a direct sales company called Usborne. I thought it would be fun to host an online party. Since we don’t have access to libraries here, and English books are scarce and expensive, I would love to build up my kids’ home library with age appropriate books. My friend, Mika, shared Usborne with me, and in an effort to help her business, I signed up to hostess an online party. Their books are wonderful! My mom actually bought us a book of Arabic words from this company our first year here and my kids still use it!

The best part is that there is a BIG Black Friday sale today. Maybe we can all find some books that interest us and save some money in the process. Here is the direct link to the Black Friday sale on my party page: BLACK FRIDAY SALE

I think the books would make great Christmas gifts for the young readers in your life. Of course, there is no pressure! This is just something fun that I decided to do. I hope you’ll find something from Usborne that you like too!

Here is the e-mail invitation they send with party details:

You are invited to an Usborne Books eShow to explore the world of Usborne Books. A child's interest in reading and learning is stimulated by the lavish illustrations and informative content. There are over 1300 bright, colorful and fun titles covering activities, puzzles and a wide range of subjects for children of all ages.

Usborne Books - the books kids love to read!

Hosted by: Carrie Dressler
Place: www.ubah.com/HOS134282
When: Today thru 12/7/2008 11:59:00 PM

Everyone is welcome, so invite a friend.

It's a rewarding experience when a child opens a book and discovers the magic of reading.

Thanksgiving Day...today I am thankful for...

My family. I praise God for my best friend, Scot, and our gorgeous, energetic, and happy kids, Thomas, Maggie, Scoty, and Georgia Kate. They bless me in innumerable ways on a daily basis. They are a treasure.

With a heart of thanksgiving, I send my sincere wishes for a blessed Thanksgiving Day to all my readers. May you find so many things to be thankful for today and always!

November 26...Today I am thankful for..

Thomas Paul. Today is his day. Thomas has been a bundle of energy from the very moment of his birth...and even before that! Thomas began walking at 8 1/2 months, and was seen running through the mall in Nyack before he even reached 10 months! He never slowed down!

Thomas is extremely intelligent, wowing us all with his amazing abilities in both English and Arabic. He lacks the patience to study hard. We're hoping that changes as he gets older.

Thomas is affectionate and enjoys lots of hugs and kisses! Sometimes it borders on annoying. :) He is a friend to all and loves to stay after school to help his teacher in the classroom. He excels in physical activities, including TaeKwonDo. He is a natural athlete, which he did not get from either of his parents. I love to watch him run! We have often been heard saying, "Run, Forrest, run!" when Thomas was on the move.

Thomas is spiritually sensitive and enjoys understanding more about his faith and the faith of his friends. He loves to read and memorize scripture, which is exciting to me!

Thomas is also the family peace-ender. He picks on his brother and sisters when he's bored. "Thomas is teasing me!" is often heard ringing throughout the house. Oooo, does that ever get on my last nerve. Of course, I hear he is much like a certain uncle who will remain nameless...

Thomas is a fun-loving boy. He certainly brings life to the family. I just wish he'd take a rest once in awhile...or at least sleep past 5:30am! :)

November 25...Today I'm thankful for...

Stroopwafels! YUM-O! Dutch friends of our sent some of these things back as a gift from Holland with a coworker passing through. They are cookie type things filled with a caramel and they are to die for! So yummy! So, while at the local grocery store that specializes in catering to foreigners Scot found them! So, we bought them, of course! And ate the whole bag in one day! Uh-oh!

Stroopwafel means syrup waffle. If you can find them, try them. You won't be disappointed! You can check out this website if you really want to know more!

November 24...Today I'm thankful for...

2 bags of garbage and 6 bags of give-away stuff. Purging. It feels amazing to get rid of so much stuff that has been filling our house. We got rid of toys, clothes, towels...anything that we did not use and did not foresee using when we return in July. It's gone. Ahhhhh...

And that's just the beginning. We still have 3 more rooms to purge. Look out! The Dresslers are downsizing! :)

November 23...Today I am thankful for...

SHRINKY DINKS! A friend from Scrapshare sent me a package awhile back and included a pack of Shrinky Dink paper. I haven't done Shrinky Dinks in years and was excited to try it with the kids. It took a little longer than anticipated just to get them all colored and cut, but we did get to finish quite a few pairs of earrings for me and some gifts for family. And all 4 kids made a Christmas tree charm that they want to make into a necklace.

Who can forget the magic of Shrinky Dinks? Watching them curl up and shrink was so much fun the kids were fighting over who got to stand closest to the oven. Humph. Well, it wouldn't be a family craft time if there wasn't at least one fight!

It was great fun, and I've got some fun, funky, mildly obnoxious holiday earrings to wear for Thanksgiving and Christmas! :)

November 22...Today I'm thankful for...

God's protection on the road. I spent the night away with some friends for a girl's night in. On the way back to Jerusalem, I was driving a friend's car and a tour bus turned left in front of me. I praise God that he gave me the reflexes I needed to respond. The bus driver never saw me coming for some reason, but I was able to make a hard right turn, avoid the divider, and come to a safe stop on the side of the road. It wasn't until we were stopped that I realized how close we had been to a terrible accident.

It was scary and we were all pretty shaken up afterward, so someone else took the wheel and we stopped just a quarter mile up the road at a rest stop where we were able to unwind, laugh, and regroup. The rest of the trip was uneventful.

I am thankful God had his hand on our car and we were all safe.