First picture

11 weeks and counting! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Girl Time

I'm blessed to be surrounded by some wonderful women - both on my team and in a fellowship we're a part of. Through the years, God has shown Himself to be so faithful to bring the right people into my life at the right time.

The other day a few of us took a little 45 minute trip to Zakho to do some major damage. (And to find some great deals!) This is the closest thing we have to a Wal-Mart: City Centre!

Celebrating a teammate's birthday.

Praise God for these ladies!

Dohuk Weather

This winter, we've had a strange mix of weather patterns. (Reminds me a bit of Nashville!) But we can see Spring on the horizon, and we are so excited to start digging in the garden again.

The snow we had in January made Dohuk's mountains look so beautiful.

A dust storm paints everything orange. (And makes your house nice and dirty.)

This was from a hail storm a few weeks ago!

Thankfully, signs of Spring are everywhere, including this little Flower Girl from across the street. (She comes to our gate often and says, "Julie, mala wa?" / "Can I come to your house?" I've learned that kids are some of the best teachers of Kurdish because they will fearlessly tell you how wrong you're saying something!)

2 Years

Dan and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary last week. 2 years - it's hard to fathom!

I came home from school and my good man had the table set and a meal cooked. He sure knows how to make my heart smile.

And since it was such a beautiful, sunny day, we ventured onto the roof and had affogatos. Yes, we do love our coffee. And ice cream. (Why not mix 'em together?)

Mardin, Turkey

We went to Mardin, Turkey over the Christmas holiday to visit some friends. Dan and Alex went to the Citadel together, and now they live just a few hours apart in the Middle East!

Alex and his wife Jamie and their beautiful girls Abigail and Elisa were such fun. Our time with them was relaxing and refreshing - a wonderful vacation. I didn't know them before this trip, but it was like being with old friends.

Side note: Even though it's only a 3 hour distance, it took 10 hours to get there! Border patrol is pretty rigorous. (Also, they were on lunch break when we got there. Lunch is a serious matter.) The bright side: I caught up on my reading.

Right across the street from Alex and Jamie's apartment, there is an actual coffee shop serving actual coffee. Yes, that's a chocolate spoon!

In the market

At the Sultan Isa Madressi. Breathtaking view!

Overlooking the plains of northern Syria

The top of the mountain

The Deyrul Zafaran Monastery - a Syrian Orthodox Church built in the 5th century AD

Great architecture

Beautiful family!

Elisa and me

A pool of water next to a beautiful courtyard.

This one of Alex and Jamie is adorable.

The view was amazing.

Two Citadel boys and their rings of power

Also, here's a Red Bull commercial shot in Mardin. The spot where the guy does a flip at 2:30 is where we took the pictures at the pool of water. Pretty cool!

Lessons from a teacher

One of my favorite blogs to read is Dr. George Grant's, found here: http://eleventary.blogspot.com/.

I had the privilege of studying under Dr. G for 6 years at FCS, and then hearing him preach for a couple of years at Parish Presbyterian. I always marveled that a man with such an amazing mind would spend so much time teaching head strong high school students. If he accepted all the invitations to write books for other people and speak at conferences that often come his way, he'd probably have more money and more fame. And he does speak at conferences and write books, but he also spends a great deal of time discipling youngsters.

Below was one of his recent posts. As a first-year teacher, I find a lot of inspiration here. I hope to have this perspective in 20 years.

After 20 Years, Why I'm Still Teaching

1. I get to love what I love in front of my students.
2. I inevitably learn more--even more than those I’m teaching.
3. I have a great excuse to buy more books.
4. And then, I have a great excuse to read more books.
5. I am forced to make real-life connections rather than simply pontificate in the theoretical.
6. I am provoked to think about the future and scrutinize the present through the lens of the past.
7. I am able to reacquaint myself with the best of our great legacy of art, music, and ideas.
8. I get the satisfaction of seeing the “lights come on.”
9. I am constantly prodded to hone my communications skills.
10. I get to bear testimony to the grace and mercy of God, in space, in time, and in me.
11. I am privileged to catch early glimpses of the future leaders of our culture in action.

Christmas Spectacular

What do you get when you combine Kurdish dancing, Jingle Bells, Mr. Bean singing opera, karaoke rap music, and heart-shaped balloons? A Christmas program, naturally.

All I can say is, this town's got talent. And I was there to witness it all -- captured in an electrifying 3 1/2 hour event.

Dan the Santa Man leading the 7th graders in a very moving rendition of Jingle Bells.

My sweet 5th graders sang, "I've Got Peace Like a River." It was pretty cute if I do say so myself. But I am biased.