The Rollins Rundown

Turkey!

2009-12-08T11:56:00.016-02:00

Here goes... I'm gonna split our trip into two posts, because I just could NOT for the life of me narrow down our pictures any more. We went to TURKEY! and Greece. But ever since I was 13 and read an Indiana Jones book set in Turkey, that's been my #1 travel destination. These 2 days in Istanbul rushing around didn't quite satisfy it, but it was still really awesome to finally actually be there. Oddly, the semester of Turkish I took at BYU 8-1/2 years ago didn't really flood back to me. Not as helpful as I was hopin'. I'll brush up on it before we go back, because go back we will!

My sister, Erin, and her cute family flew in from Poland for the Thanksgiving break. They got in the Friday night the week before Thanksgiving, and Sunday after church we headed out on our rockin' road trip to Istanbul and Greece. After a Thanksgiving dinner with 19 people (including 6 missionaries..they eat a LOT!) on Saturday. Above, you can see the cute kiddos who kept us rockin'. Bran, Nuala, Brigit, Colin, and "big boy Liam." Sorry, Erin, this was the only pic we had of all of them looking and smiling at the camera. It was this weird Liam smile (though of course he still looks handsome!) or the one with his finger up his nose...that one was actually very tempting.

My beautiful sis. She's due 9 days after me. We're gonna hang out at our parents' house for 3 months starting next week, with all our kiddos. My youngest sister is already living there with her 6-month-old while her hubby finishes up training with the Army. Pray for my parents.

The steps at the Nevski cathedral in downtown Sofia are really, really fun to play on. Aren't those 5 little rascals so cute?!

Nuala randomly started doing all these karate moves. It was pretty funny. We took a million shots (okay, only 5) and got a cute little series. What a natural!

We stopped in Plovdiv for a leg-stretching break on our drive to TURKEY! How adorable are these two? Nuala and Brigit are basically best buds. They both love pink, and that's pretty much all that matters when you're this age. It was so fun watching them hang out and play.

The Blue Mosque. In Istanbul on Monday morning.

There were loads of cats everywhere. That made for some happy children. Happy cats? Sometimes. Lots of squealing, etc. was involved. But also ear scratching and tummy rubbing.

Beautiful place, the Blue Mosque. The inside wasn't as interesting as we were hoping. I already knew not to expect paintings, statues, etc. in the mosque, and the decorative calligraphy was really lovely, but you can only look at that for so long. Especially with 5 small children.

To the Basilica Cistern! We really liked it here. Nuala's question, as we were going down the stairs: "Indiana Jones live here?" No clue where that came from! I promise, we only let them watch SOME scenes from Indy...apparently they made an impression, though...how could Indy NOT?

There were 2 statues of Medusa's head in there. One was upside down. It was a cool place, lots of fish swimming around in the water...nice and dark...the water wasn't very deep, maybe 2 feet.

Inside the Grand Bazaar. I had heard, and it was true, that the Turkish people love children! Everyone was so friendly, and not in the jerkish Cairo sort of way. Seriously, in Egypt, everyone would be your "friend" and try to get you to their shop, or their "sister's" or their "uncle's" and then totally disown you when you refused to buy anything. Not like that in Istanbul. They were really genuinely friendly. Sure, they tried to get us to buy stuff, but not at all to the degree we experienced in Cairo. (We did wise up that month in Egypt...after the very first day. It took us several hours to walk about a mile because we kept letting people talk to us, we kept being too nice back. After that...whatever. We just kept going, finally figured out they weren't really interested in us, just in our (perceived) $$). The lamps in the bazaar were really gorgeous. We didn't buy anything, just some bracelets and little trinkets for the kiddos, but those lamps...maybe when we go back.

At the pet/misc. bazaar. Get your fresh leeches here!

This nice fellow was selling pet bunnies, and took this little guy out for the kiddos to pet.

Ooooh...the Spice Bazaar! It was soooo fun to walk around, so colorful! We did have to buy a bunch of Turkish Delight.

The Hagia Sophia. This is right across the street from the Blue Mosque.

Fountains = Kid Magnets

Looking out a top window of the Hagia Sophia towards the Blue Mosque.

I loved those huge wooden circles hanging on the walls. I don't really know the significance of the symbols/writing inside, but they were very impressive.

Z, Bran, Nuala, and Brigit beside a big marble jar. I don't know why I'm admitting this, but when I read the info card for this, it said, "Marble Jar" and I seriously was like, "Wow, that would hold a LOT of marbles." Then I clued in. I blame pregnancy brain + sleep deprivation. yeah...

Going up, up, UP the ramps to the upper level of the Hagia Sophia.

A partially restored painting of Christ with his mother and John the Baptist. The Hagia Sophia was originally an Orthodox basilica, then when the Ottomans took over, they turned it into a mosque and plastered over all the images. Now it's a museum and they're bit by bit removing the plaster from the paintings.

Aaaaand, Topkapi Palace! This I was very excited about. Too bad Nuala was a pill and a half. Z talked some sense into her and and she finally started behaving herself once we got to the Harem.

Rob is so excited to carry his almost-6 and almost-4 year olds around. What a guy!

Z is also excited. Can't you tell? He especially likes how Nuala steers. This is outside the Harem -- so pretty!

Cute Bran and Colin.

And...about to enter the Harem. This is OUR domain...

The tilework was beautiful! It was a tad dark inside, and "creepy", as Brigit announced. But it was really interesting to imagine it in its heyday.

Nuala liked all these low little sinks. Just at her level!

The girls were so cute on the way out. Running, squealing, charming everyone! A guard gave them each a flower, which made them quite happy :) Brigit tried to trade her white one for Nuala's pink one, but that was a no-go. Finally we got them to compromise by breaking a blossom off each and trading those.

And, our Turkish food! It was quite yummy. Of course! Especially after what I consider the low point of the trip: going to McDonald's for lunch. Just for the kids, but still. I'm embarrassed to write that. Bran's happy meal light saber didn't even work. grumble, grumble. We did get street food, too, and then this stuff...delicious! The kiddos all liked the food, too, of course. They're pretty good about eating lots of different stuff.

Oh, we also LOVED waking up at 6am to the muezzin calling the devout to prayer. That is not sarcastic. We really did like it. It sounded so other-worldly, the sing-song Arabic. And the guy had a wonderful voice, in the mosque near us. It was lovely to just lie in bed, listening to that, and kind of wake up slowly...so nice.

Thus ends the Turkish portion of our trip...at least for the blog...wow, it was great! Just too short. Stay tuned for...Meteora, Greece!

"I Love the see the Temple..."

2009-12-07T14:33:00.006-02:00

(I'm still working on getting through the bazillion pictures from our trip, but I had this post in the "archives" that I'd never put up, and figured I might as well do it now, in the lull...)

Remember that Primary song?

"I love to see the temple, I'm going there someday

To feel the Holy Spirit, to listen and to pray.

For the temple is a House of God, a place of love and beauty.

I'll prepare myself while I am young; this is my sacred duty.

I love to see the temple. I'll go inside someday.

I'll cov'nant with my Father; I'll promise to obey.

For the temple is a holy place Where we are sealed together.

As a child of God, I've learned this truth; A fam'ly is forever."

(Wash DC temple, looking at the reflection in the pond)

I loved it as a child, and now it has even more meaning as my little ones are growing and learning. They love to see the temple. We saw it at least once a week in Uruguay, since there was one right next door to our church building. Their excited little voices yelling "Tempo! Tempo!" and "I see Angel 'Roni!" were our clue that we were almost there. Alas, the closest temple to us now is in Freiberg, Germany (soon the Ukraine one will be dedicated, though! um...not that we'll get up there too often, either...), so it's going to be a little more difficult to make it such a frequent part of our lives. Thank goodness for pictures! Here are some we've taken in the last several months, that I came across and felt like sharing:

Wash DC, June '09 (yes, this was already on our blog...)

N&B in front of Wash DC temple. It's such a gorgeous temple! Well, yeah. They ALL are...

Aaaaand, what arms around each other usually turns into...

Not of the temple, obviously, but the Christus statue in the visitors center. N&B loved it. We spent a lot of time listening to the recording (in Spanish, too, just for fun. We were a little nostalgic for Uruguay... :) and looking at the statue...pointing out the marks in His hands and feet. It was really great to see how much they really know/remember about what they've been taught, and how they understand it. I sure love them lots. But what a great responsibility it is to teach these kiddos! And a blessing, of course, but yes...quite the responsibility.

And our beloved Montevideo, Uruguay temple, April '09. If only Nuala wasn't making such a weird face! Oh, well... Angel Moroni and the Uruguay flag look just perfect, too!

Another one in front of the Montevideo temple, May '09. I miss that temple! I'm so grateful for temples and for the blessings and peace they bring to my life and my family's life. Yet another example of how much Heavenly Father loves all His children, giving us the opportunity to be together forever. Even those who have passed on without knowing about the gospel! How amazing!

And with all this temple talk, I thought I'd post a short video explaining about our temples, if anyone is interested. I was kinda surprised to even see some non-Mormon ecclesiastical leaders interviewed. It's a good one, and only 3 mins! Gotta love the short little Mormon Messages that are on youtube...

jumping, jumping, tackling, jumping...

2009-12-01T19:08:00.014-02:00

We just got back from a totally fun trip to Turkey and Greece and I haven't sifted through pics enough yet to put a post up, BUT I am really, really, really (did I mention REALLY?) tired of seeing my belly up there. Not that I go to our blog all that often, since I know there's no new post up, but just knowing they're there... So to get something new up, here are some older happenings: Our trampoline came! um...a few months ago. Obviously...from the nice, sunny weather featured in the photos. But it's been perfect for the tykes. Bran was soooo excited to help Z set it up. Love that boy!

Gotta concentrate...

Nuala helped, too. She liked hanging the springs from the holes.

This fellow... I am just in LOVE with him.

So wonderful to just set them loose on it... Yeah, we've had many a bonked noggin, and "disagreements" erupt occasionally. Okay, maybe half the time...or a smidge more. But it's worth it; they love being out there. Except now it's cold and often damp so that's a bummer, but spring will come again!

Nuala usually is pretty vocal about not wanting to wrestle with Bran when on solid ground, but for some reason the trampoline totally brings wrestle-mania out in her. More often she's the one takin' her bro down instead of the other way around. Dainty little Snow White.

28 weeks...that means only 12 more?!

2009-11-17T18:23:00.002-02:00

28 weeks today...yep! Gettin' to the end! This little girl is a mover, and I just can't WAIT to meet her! She especially loves to be active at night...seems a little lazy in the mornings. I totally understand. I guess I don't look really huge, but let me tell ya... I FEEL it. Hmmm...I think that picture under-represents the size...maybe I sucked in accidentally at that split second. Well, whatever, even if I was puffin' out as far as I could go, I'm still not quite as large as I was at this point in my last pregnancy. I know, weird, right?

And, yeah. I know I'm wearing the exact same outfit in each picture. Crazy coincidence. I promise I have other clothes. The thought crossed my mind as I was having Z take the pic, that maybe, just maaaybe, I should change into one of my new maternity shirts...just in case. We see how much I really cared.

pucker up...!

2009-11-14T11:52:00.009-02:00

Nuala got into my one tube of lipstick. I blame myself for never wearing it, so she really has no clue how to put it on. Oddly, she's almost a pro at lip gloss... (though, um...I seldom wear that either...hmmm...maybe I should brush up on those feminine charms.) Lipstick, though is WAY more fun, probably because you can easily get results like these. Immediate request from the Bug: "I want lipstick that goes 'round and 'round and up and down from Papa 'well! (Papa Noel)"

She just loves being so "pretty!" I love this girl! Such a sweetie! Usually... And speaking of being "pretty"... the other day while eating oatmeal, we were talking about getting married (again... definitely a favorite topic of hers!), and she was asking Bran to marry her (again), and Bran, who apparently totally gets the brother-sister issue, said in exasperation, "I can't marry you, Noona, 'cause I your brother! You is my sister!" Turning to me, then: "You yell at Noona 'cause her want to marry me?" Poor guy. I keep telling them both not to worry, when the time comes neither will want to marry the other. So anyway, I started totally talking up the handsome boy who will meet Nuala and fall madly in love with her, and she with him, and she got all excited and said, " Him might say, 'Oooooo, I like marry her! She so pretty!' " Just made me smile. She is so pretty. Outside AND inside, which is something else we talk about...that it's even more important to be pretty on the inside. And she is!

Blessing Day

2007-03-02T18:48:00.000-02:00

Okay, it takes me forever to post anything nowadays...We blessed Nuala and Bran this past Sunday (Feb. 25th) at church. It was Ward Conference, but the Stake Presidency was kind enough to give us the go-ahead anyway.

Nuala's wearing the same little dress my sisters and I wore when we were blessed... thankfully, she refrained from any Nuala trademark blowouts, and the dress lives on. Bran has on a little bib that my father wore when he was blessed oh so long ago...

My parents came, as did Zachariah's parents, his 3 sisters, 2 of the 3 sisters' husbands, and a niece and nephew. Add in Erin and her family, plus some good friends and we had quite the fun crowd!

Yummm...a highlight of the get-together were the delicious Texas briskets from HEB that my mom tucked into her blessedly large purse to fly up here. Oh, how we love those briskets!

Since we haven't posted any grandpa pictures...

Zac's dad with Nuala

My dad with Bran

President Hinckley, we will miss you.

2008-01-28T22:41:00.000-02:00

I just couldn't not write something about our dear Prophet's passing. Like the rest of the Church, I love President Hinckley dearly, he was a wonderful man, with an amazing spirit and amazingly spirited! 97 years old...wow! The things he did! I will surely miss him, but what an exciting time for him! Back with his beloved wife again...they were the sweetest little couple. I'm so thankful for President Hinckley, and all that he did for us.

I am also grateful for the consistency of the Church. The Lord will call another to lead, and nothing will change. The doctrine is and will always be the same, it doesn't vary, no matter who the Lord chooses to be His mouthpiece here on earth. What a blessing the gospel is! But, President Hinckley, we will miss you!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-24T11:04:00.000-02:00

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! We leave this evening for Texas, for my baby sister Tara's wedding. We're very excited to see family and spend time with them. (And eat real Mexican food.) My poor mom broke her wrist just Saturday, right in time for the influx of grandbabies and all the craziness that comes with family get-togethers and weddings. She tripped over the dishwasher door...it had probably been plotting that for years...poor thing!

The Lord has blessed us so much this year, and we're very grateful to Him. We hope you all feel His love in your lives, especially at this time when we celebrate the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Here's a great message by President Hinckley, from the December New Era, just perfect for helping remember the true meaning of Christmas. Feliz Navidad!

Dresser Update

2008-10-03T19:06:00.008-03:00

So the dresser from the previous post is now OUT of their room. At least for the time being. I feel like such an idiot. We made sure to anchor our bookcases, etc. to the walls, but we didn't even think that their dresser would be a problem, and I don't know why! I guess because it's squatter and didn't seem like it would tip, though looking at it now I can see it. Especially with the bottom drawer removed, so it's even more top-heavy.

I was laying in bed this morning, listening to the sounds of play from the twins' room and poor Z in the shower, when I heard a gigantic crash, followed by double shrieking. SCARY. I was there in a flash, and since I didn't grab my glasses, I didn't immediately see Nuala sitting safely off to the side. I saw Bran pinned by his little legs, but had no clue where N was, I just heard her screaming and screaming and thought she was completely underneath the dresser. Oh, it could have been bad, we were very blessed that the only injuries were a couple more bruises on poor Bran's legs.

All day I've been thinking about what might have happened, how horribly different it could have turned out, and I immediately say another prayer of gratitude to Heavenly Father for watching over my children. I am so grateful that He is there for us, that we do all we can do, and He will do the rest. Though I think anchoring dressers falls in the "do all we can do" category, I didn't mean to neglect that, and at least it will make me more aware now of other potential hazards. I don't know how I would survive motherhood (or life!) without knowing that all is in His hands.

I love IVF

2009-04-22T13:01:00.001-03:00

I was walking back from the park one day last week, wrestling the stroller up and down not-very-stroller-friendly curbs while Nuala and Bran lazily munched on crackers, when an older, sharply-dressed woman who was power-walking purposefully past us noticed the two same-sized children and screeched to a halt. "Son mellizos?" Are they twins? Normal question. The next question was a surprise to me. "Did they happen naturally or did you do a procedure?"

Usually people are curious about multiples, and for some reason really want to know how you (well, me, in this case) were lucky enough to get two blessings for the price of one. But I, unlike many moms of multiples, have never been asked in my 3-years of pregnancy/motherhood quite so flat-out, and by an older woman, the how-to of Bran and Nuala. Usually people dance around the question, with inquiries such as, "Oh, do twins run in your family?" (which I love to answer with, "no, but they did in our doctor's office!" haha..followed by a confused expression and my IVF explanation.) So it was kind of a surprise. Which was a little refreshing, the directness. Maybe it wouldn't have been quite so refreshing if she had just been an obnoxiously nose-in-your-business kind of person, I guess, but further conversation revealed that her daughter has been doing IUIs (intra-uterine insemination) and is about to move on to IVF so she had a real interest in the subject. By the way, IUIs = total waste of money. At least for us. Bleh.

Honestly, I usually volunteer the information that Nuala and Bran are our IVF miracles. If we end up talking about them for more than a couple of sentences, I usually pop out with, "yeah, we did IVF..." so I have no qualms about talking about it. In fact, I probably give out a little too much information.

Here are the two reasons for my openness...

One: to be a bright and shining (or frazzled and crazy) ray of hope, and source of info if necessary, to others who might be going through the same struggle, or if nothing else to just raise awareness about infertility.

Two: ...is kind of embarrassing...I feel as if I'm going to come off sounding so...prideful. But here it is. I'm, um...sorta proud (see how I fear I will seem "prideful"?) of all the hard work that went into getting these two! Maybe "proud" is not the right word. I feel that sweet sense of accomplishment that one gets from fighting a battle and finally prevailing. An emotionally, financially, mentally, and physically draining battle in which we were mercilessly knocked down so many times yet were able to struggle back to our feet. Not at all to imply that natural pregnancies are devoid of hard work or are any less yearned for by the parents. Being pregnant is hard work. Period. Just because someone got pregnant the fun way doesn't make their babies any less wanted or important. Same with adoption. But, heck! IVF is a pain! In so many ways. And we went through it and were so blessed, SO blessed to have a successful and healthy pregnancy and delivery. So blessed to finally have our babies. And I know our IVF success wasn't due to me or my awesome uterus (though it was highly praised by several doctors, thank you very much...what, you didn't want to know that??)

I know 100% of the credit is due to our Heavenly Father. We did all we could, but in the end, it was totally in His hands. And I thank Him for these children many times a day (yep! even on the rascally days, which we have been experiencing MANY of lately...). I am also exceedingly grateful for the blessings of modern science, the amazingly microscopic and detailed procedures that allowed us the privilege of caring for these two very choice little spirits.

And the procedures are amazing. Such as: ICSI (intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection). The doc grabs one single sperm by the "neck," and says,"hey you! You're gonna fertilize this egg or die trying!" and manually injects the eager little swimmer staight into the egg. Who'da thought? I'm so grateful to have these medical advances available!

Which brings me to another somewhat eye-rolling aspect of the whole fertility treatment thing. Thankfully this has never been expressed to my face, but soooo much online from comments on news stories, or wherever, I hear "obviously God didn't mean for these people to have children!" Oh, pul-LEASE. If that were the case, no amount of effort or ingenious medical procedures are going to circumvent Him. Come on. It's insulting to Him, I think, to imply that if He truly meant for someone to not have children, that He wouldn't have the power to enforce His will, that a mere mortal could dink around with some sperm and eggs and create a life behind His back. And when does anyone know God's plan for other people? or even for themselves, for that matter? Do they not understand the concept of trials, and of doing all you can do when faced with a trial and leaving the rest up to Him?

And of course I don't understand all the "why's" behind why some wonderful people are not blessed in this life with children while the 14-yr-old down the street is pregnant, or the whole Octomom situation... There's a lot of stuff I don't understand. I don't worry too much about it. He has told us "my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways...For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).

I love how Nephi, a prophet in the Book of Mormon, says it: "...I know that he loveth his children, nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things (1 Nephi 11:17). Me, too. Though I don't know the meaning of all things or have all the answers, I DO know He loves His children and has a plan for each of us, and I'm very grateful that Nuala and Bran are included in that plan for me. I didn't "sneak" them behind his back. He willingly and lovingly gave them to me.

Medical advancements, including fertility treatments, are a blessing. The Lord put the knowledge on earth to bless people. Sure, like all knowledge, people can use it for good or ill (Octomom...wow...though I don't believe for a second that those babies are mistakes in any way, but the situation...), and I have no problem taking advantage of the technology available to bring my babies into the world. Did I say, "no problem?" I meant: I am beyond thrilled that it's available! I am also thrilled that my not-so-great vision (thanks, Dad!) can be easily corrected by wearing contacts/glasses, and while we're on the subject, boy was I grateful that not only did someone utilize the technology to create life-flight helicopters, but that one could get my sister to a competant doctor quickly enough after a car accident in the middle of nowhere so that he could use other medical advancements to save her life. AND I have fillings. Etc, etc. See what I mean?

I believe in a God who enlightens His children, in all aspects of their lives. He can inspire men and women to innovate and create and discover, leading to great progress for all mankind, and He also can guide each of us in our personal lives and decisions, such as how to go about building a family. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). And for that, I am grateful.

So...I love IVF. Not so much all the "fun" little details of it, but because through it, I have my children.

{And also because I can truthfully say, when Nuala and Bran ask how babies are made, "well, we went to the doctor and told him we wanted a baby, so he got you and your brother ready and put you inside mommy's tummy..." heehee ;) No! I won't! I mean, they'll know all about how we got them, but I'll fill 'em in on the real facts o' life, don't worry...}

Happy Easter! Felices Pascuas!

2009-04-12T20:32:00.009-03:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! We did. I'm so very grateful for the Atonement and Resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know that through Him we have life, in all meanings of the word. We can be truly happy. He suffered not only for our sins, but for ALL our pains, infirmities, afflictions... That is so amazing to me...He personally knows from experience the pains and heartaches that every single one of us go through. Who better to lean on when we are suffering in any way than the One who has experienced exactly what we are going through? Who better to comfort and guide us?

I love, love, LOVE this video. I've shared it on Facebook, so if you happen to be on there AND read our blog, you may have seen it already. Or it's entirely possible you came across it on your own. Or maybe you haven't even seen it yet! No matter! I'm posting it here, too. It's a beautiful message by Elder Holland and is only 4-1/2 minutes long.

In other Easter news... Here is my conversation with Nuala, immediately after talking with the two of them again about the real meaning of Easter, as opposed to the fun and chocolate-y bunny slant.

Me: So, Nuala, what happened on Easter?

Nuala: Cry...ojos (eyes)....

Me: Oh, why did He cry?

Nuala (holding out her little hands): Get owies. Manos (hands)! Bed.

Me: Bed? Oh, they put Him on a bed?

Nuala: Niñas (girls)! Una niña (one girl). Sleep... (pretending to sleep)

Me (lightbulb going on, realizing she's talking about one of her favorite parts of the Finding Faith in Christ movie, where Jesus raises Jarius's daughter from the dead): Ohhhhhh! The niña was sleeping on the bed? Did He make her better?

Nuala nods, looking at me somewhat pityingly, glad I FINALLY clued in...

Me (moving on): Well, when Jesus died, did He come alive again?

Nuala: MmmHMMMM! Happy!

Me (I just can't let it go...): Soooo...who came back to life at Easter?

Nuala (no hesitation and a big, rascally grin): Conejo (Rabbit)!!

Me: Ummmm, noooo....

Nuala (again, no hesitation): Jesus!

I love kids. Especially mine, oddly enough ;) Even with the inevitable tantrums and stubbornness, they sure bring me so much joy! And responsibility. Don't worry...just in case Nuala wasn't just trying to mess with me, we've been going over the whole rabbit/Resurrection thing...

Happy Easter!

"...the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ"

2009-10-25T11:32:00.001-02:00

I've been not wanting to write about this, but I just can't NOT. When we got back from Romania, we had some very sad news waiting for us from several Uruguayan friends. A friend from church, who was also one of our home teachers, was killed over that weekend. Santiago was a pilot in the Uruguayan Air Force, and the plane he was on (a UN mission flight) crashed into a mountain in Haiti. He wasn't quite 31.

Our hearts are breaking for his family. He left behind his sweet wife and their two little boys. Guillermo will be 3 in February, and Facundo will be 2 in May. Guille and Bran and Nuala were little buddies in nursery, and we love their family. It's not even just that we "knew" them and that's it's general bad news. We love Santiago and Carla and Guille and Facu. They're such a fun, sweet, friendly family. Both Carla and Santiago...always smiling... Santi was a great dad. Loved those little fellows and was always carting one or both around. Bran especially really liked him, too. Always would wander over to see him at church, and loved to have his attention when he'd come home teaching.

(At Facu's 1st birthday party)

And Carla. Wonderful Carla. What devastating news, but how strong she is. I'm not sure how long he'd been in Haiti, but long enough that there were several cute, teasing messages going back and forth on their Facebook pages, almost right up to the day of the accident. They were so in love... Another friend from church told us about the memorial service and funeral for the six Uruguayans who died. Carla was comforting the others. She wore cream. Contrasted deeply with the dark, somber colors everyone else was wearing. She did that because she knows that this is not the end. That she will be with Santiago again. Their family will be whole once more. I can't imagine how terrible this trial is, but I do know that the hope that the restored gospel brings to lives is real. I know that, and I know she knows that. Families are forever. We can be together after death. Death is not the end. We will be reunited with our loved ones and be resurrected. That won't make her miss him any less, wishing he were there to hold his boys and to make memories that those little children will treasure over photographs...but it will ease the bitter sting that such separations inevitably bring. See, now I'm crying again. I keep thinking of my little ones, and how much they would miss their daddy, and how much I would, too, of course.

(Guille and Nuala, watching something very interesting, at Facu's party)

In the words of Elder Wirthlin, an apostle in our church:

"Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.

But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.

No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come.

I testify to you that the Resurrection is not a fable. We have the personal testimonies of those who saw Him. Thousands in the Old and New Worlds witnessed the risen Savior. They felt the wounds in His hands, feet, and side. They shed tears of unrestrained joy as they embraced Him...

We will all rise from the grave. And on that day my father will embrace my mother. On that day I will once again hold in my arms my beloved Elisa.

Because of the life and eternal sacrifice of the Savior of the world, we will be reunited with those we have cherished.

On that day we will know the love of our Heavenly Father. On that day we will rejoice that the Messiah overcame all that we could live forever." (Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Sunday Will Come,” Ensign, Nov 2006)

Oh, the blessing of the gospel. I'm very grateful for it in my life. More than I can say. But, my heart still breaks for Carla and her little boys, and the long separation they are facing now. Please keep them in your prayers.

Here's a little video honoring the Uruguayans on the flight.

"Los aviadores no mueren, solo vuelan más alto."

a-PEAR-ently...

2009-11-09T14:09:00.012-02:00

...they're not pears, after all. I feel so much better. Totally thought I was utterly incompetent since I couldn't even figure out how to eat a PEAR! They're quince. That's pronounced "kwins." Here's a little bit about them, a ccording to wikipedia, the source of all knowledge on the web...

"Most varieties of quince are too hard, astringent and sour to eat raw unless 'bletted' (softened by frost and subsequent decay). They are used to make jam, jelly and quince pudding, or they may be peeled, then roasted, baked or stewed. The flesh of the fruit turns red after a long cooking time. The very strong perfume means they can be added in small quantities to apple pies and jam to enhance the flavour. Adding a diced quince to apple sauce will enhance the taste of the applesauce with the chunks of relatively firm, tart quince. The term "marmalade", originally meaning a quince jam, derives from "marmelo," the Portuguese word for this fruit."

Interesting, huh? I was actually quite involved reading about this little fruit, some good info there...Also, it was kind of wikipedia to point out that these are "not to be confused with quints." That could be confusing...5 babies...a fruit... But anyway...THAT explains why these were the hardest pears I have ever come across in my life. Yes, Mom, even harder than those miracle-working ones in the backyard! So, not exactly wanting to "blet" them, we took the advice of several Bulgarians (and wikipedia) and made jam. Not "made jam" as in actually got mason jars, etc, etc, (if only!), but just whipped up a batch and froze some and kept some out to eat right away. Quite yummy, if I do say so!

Alright, so the picture maybe doesn't make it look all that tasty, but trust me, it's good!

Mmmm...Nuala enjoying it on waffles...

A tired-looking Z (okay, not just tired-looking...plain ol' TIRED) with his delicious creation.

Bran, who if you can't tell, is giving a thumbs-up... Yes! Approval!

So next year we'll know how to properly take advantage of these lovely quince...quinces... quince... what's the plural of quince? Queence? They smell so sweet and delicious, I'm glad we finally figured out how to put them to use! And I'm soooo glad we're not total eejits when it comes to eating a pear!

Wooo Away... Wooooo Awwway...

2009-11-02T16:13:00.013-02:00

Happy Halloween! Late. Here's Z. He was dying to go as a sexy little kitty cat. He was quite disappointed when we couldn't find a leotard in his size, so anyone with a spare black leotard, or really anything extra-slinky that would fit Zac, send it our way and we can fulfill his little kitty dreams next year!

Nuala was a "fairy warrior" or a "fairy battle princess"... Bran was a knight. Big surprise, huh?!

I painted some "scruff" on his face, but he totally didn't like it, so I wiped it off. I shoulda just pretended to wipe it off, 'cause he looked so cute with it!

Zachariah... Oh, Zachariah. He was my kitty cat ('cause I'm a witch...yeah, now you get it...haha). And despite my earlier claim...he actually wasn't thrilled with that costume choice. Sigh. But he was a good sport (for the most part)! Nuala and Bran were excited about it, though. I did tell him he could be my broom, instead. He went with the cat, for some reason.

MRrrow!! I know you've seen it, but really, can this be seen too often?

This is Bran post-haunted house at the embassy Halloween party...hence the vacant, must-block-this-incident-from-my-memory-forever expression on his face. We were terrible parents and took our 2-yr olds inside. Bran cried basically from the beginning, Nuala not until a head sticking out of a box came alive and scared the living daylights out of her. Bran and I were ahead of her and Z and when I heard her shrieks...oh wow...they were great! What every haunted house-creator is going for. Probably not from a two-year old, but still... Am I horrible for saying so? Don't answer that...but I had to laugh at my poor little girl. She was just so surprised!! Wow, I do sound like a horrible mother... And the whole blocking-from-the-memory thing didn't work -- they've talked quite a bit about the haunted house since then, but they don't seem adversely affected. At least they haven't manifested it yet. Yeah, it was pretty fascinating stuff. (Note: We didn't take them in the haunted house at the next party we went to, the Church party. We do learn, occasionally...)

Then, on Halloween night, we went to the church Halloween party. The missionaries really got into it; they had great homemade costumes! Oddly, Bran loved the two dressed up as knights. Their costumes were a tad cooler than Bran's, I'm not ashamed to say. And their swords were way bigger.

Nuala got her face painted. No longer just a fairy warrior, but a KITTY fairy warrior. Takin' after her daddy... It was serious stuff.

Elder Christensen with Bran and Nuala. He's pretty cool. He's one of "our" missionaries, in our little branch, and has been over a few times for dinner. He always sword fights N&B.

We had a cookie decorating get-together for a bunch of N&B's little friends the Sat before Halloween. It was pretty fun, but I think the kiddos had a better time just playing than decorating/baking cookies.

This is the Nordstrom family, from church. They're the other American family in our branch... he's in med school here. Their little Mia is 4, and such a sweetie. N&B really love her.

Bran really liked it when William's daddy helped him make cookies shaped like swords and grenades...so much cooler than ghosts and pumpkins!

Anyway, Happy Halloween!! We wanted N&B to go as She-Ra and He-Man...they've been watching several episodes lately. Nuala was totally into going as She-Ra, until she saw a picture of a little girl dressed as a fairy. Then she HAD to have wings along with her battle gear. Bran never planned on He-Man. He's been faithful to the knight idea from the get-go. So, our days of dictating costumes are over apparently (unless you're Z, then I still have some power).

(The title...who gets the title? Come on sibs, one of you remembers...)

AND, Happy 36th Anniversary, Mom & Dad! We love you!!

Nuala's Salon...open for business!

2009-10-26T17:52:00.007-02:00

So you won't get a steaming cup of herbal tea, or even a fully clothed pedicurist (is that the word? ...you know what I mean!), but you WILL get enthusiasm, plenty of nail color (no skimping at Nuala's Salon!), and FULL attention. Well...okay...not full attention, either, but you'll survive. And hey, she's pretty darn cute! Who cares if your toes are all stuck together afterwards? (Actually, she is pretty good at staying somewhat inside the "lines", but still...she is two!)

Yeah...the attention thing needs some work. We just refer to these incidents as "creative" periods...

Nuts!

2009-10-25T13:48:00.004-02:00

Lucky us! We have nut trees! (And a pear tree, with the sweetest smelling pears BUT...they aren't edible. Is there something special we need to do? They're soooo hard, even after letting them sit for a while. I am pear-impaired. haha.) But the nuts are good! When we got here at the end of summer, our hazelnut trees were obliging us (there's Nuala above with some of them), and now the walnut trees are. I love walnuts.

Our gardener spoils us. He gathers up the walnuts and spreads them on the porch to dry.

Nuala and Bran love walnuts, too. Nuala more than Bran. Kinda like me and Zac... Z thinks they're "bitter." More for me!

The other day, Bran was playing with a dump truck full of walnuts, and spread them on the floor. Then he brought me some nut meat to eat, which was a little confusing, since I knew we'd already finished all the already-extracted nuts (done ever-so-elegantly with a big old hammer...maybe we should get a nutcracker). Yeah. He was takin' care of business himself. Got a big ol' broom and was whacking them on the floor. Pretty good aim, I've gotta say, since I don't find it easy to successfully crack open walnuts with a broom handle on the floor. Not that I've tried that often. Or at all.

That cute rascal... I'm nuts about him! Yeah, I know...that was bad. I do have some of my father in me after all! ;)

Transylvania

2009-10-18T16:28:00.000-02:00

Ahhh...Transylvania. (I know it's been a while since we've posted. What can I say...our internet STINKS. I think we found a solution, though...we'll see...) Anyway, we went to Romania last weekend and had a great time. We were mainly on a Dracula kick, so Castle Bran was top on the list. Castle Bran is what's known as the "Dracula Castle," but really he never lived there. Just stopped by once or maybe twice in the 15th century, but it has the look down and so it's totally "sold" as Dracula's castle. Vlad Tepes, "Dracula", was an interesting and cruel fellow. Though he seemed to have some issues from things that happened to him in his youth as a prisoner of the Turks. If you want to know more about him, you can go here. Heh. Our Lonely Planet guidebook was pretty hung up on his mustache. Talked about it quite often...

Of course we had to get them "Castle Bran" t-shirts. Nuala kept asking where her castle was...so if anyone knows of a Castle Nuala, please, fill us in!

Bran with Sting, Frodo's sword from Lord of the Rings. Just the right size! and nice and sharp, too. Perfect. At this B&B, on the border of Bulgaria and Romania, Nuala did us the honor of dropping her mug of hot chocolate on the floor, smashing it to bits. Very cool.

Castle Bran from down below in the town.

...just 'cause it has Bran's name again...

Going up into the castle. I like how it's built on a big ol' rock. Bran's holding a little Dracula Bear with a travel bug. Travel bugs are a geocaching thing...little bar codes on a dog tag that move from one cache to another all around the US or the world or wherever. This one had a goal to get to Transylvania, and the dream has been realized.

Looking down at the castle courtyard. Well, only Nuala is, I guess. I'm looking at the camara, and Bran is looking for snacks. That's our Bran.

The courtyard behind N. Apparently there's a series of hidden passages under there. Oh yeah! Romanian is quite different from Spanish, but is still a Latin-based language, unlike Bulgarian and all the other languages surrounding Romania. I got excited when a man on the steep, winding staircase offered to help me by saying "Ayuda?" (probably spelled totally differently in Romanian) in reference to me having to carry Nuala down the stairs. I can't remember why...she wouldn't walk and there was a big line...Anyway, I totally thought he was speaking Spanish and was so excited to be able to communicate again that I started jabbering away at him in Spanish. Finally I remembered that Romanian is somewhat similar to Spanish as he shook his head in confusion. It was kinda funny. I really need to start learning Bulgarian. Except I'll be gone for 3 months come December and will probably forget everything. Hmmm...what to do, what to do... But I do miss being able to actually talk to people.

The kiddos loved seeing the armor, etc. There was a ladies' dress, too, that N really liked.

While I was talking to a nice Romanian/Bulgarian couple, Z ditched me and left with the tykes to find the geocache. Up a big hill, with two little rascals. After the couple left, I looked around and realized I was alone and headed up after them. Alas, no luck. There were many paths and they were apparently out of earshot. I couldn't find them and headed back down to park myself on a bench and wait. Poor me.

The view from the cache at the top of the hill (which I didn't see in real life, since I was abandoned down below. I'm not bitter. Really.)

"The Return." This is how my strapping young (ish ;) husband came back. Apparently they both got tired. Carrying them back made Z tired. I'm just glad they made it down the hill in one piece like that...They picked a big, dirty Chester Cheetah (the Cheetos cheetah) stuffed animal with a travel bug out of the cache. It's seriously gross looking. Guess we better go geocaching again soon and ditch that sucker!

Then we went to Dracula's hometown, Sighisoara. We got there in the evening, and were so ready to head to our little homestay. We were staying in the middle of the city, in the citadel which is inside the still-standing old-town walls. Unfortunately, we got to the street to drive up and into the citadel and whaddaya know? Closed to traffic. Because they were TEARING UP and REPAVING the ENTIRE old town. So we park at the bottom of the hill (because of course the citadel's on the hill) and trudge up the endless stairs to find our B&B in the darkening evening. Luckily it was really close, but still. Later Z went back down all the steps (I tried counting them in my head on our last trip down and Bran kept distracting me -- the nerve! -- but it was close to 100) and lugged the suitcase up. Did I mention how strapping and young (ish) he is?

Even with construction crews and many, many machines everywhere, the city was still very fun to look at. I'm pretty sure all the machines actually made it MORE interesting for N&B.

The house where little Dracula entered the world and took his first little baby steps. I think he lived here until he was 4 or so.

One of our favorite areas was this graveyard on the side of the hill. Our friend, Kelly, tipped us off to it, and it was really a great place. Interesting graves, beautiful trees sporting their fall foliage, lots of chestnuts on the ground that quickly found their way into little pockets. And Z's. He filled his, too. We're gonna roast them. I guess we should do that soon. But the graveyard was very nice and atmospheric. And peaceful.

Up in a tower, looking over the town (not the citadel part) of Sighisoara.

Nuala. And lots of leaves.

The couple we stayed with, Maria and John, were super hospitable. They loved Bran and Nuala, even after the two of them climbed up on their couch, shoes and all, the very first time we walked into their kitchen. Now, I don't think that would have been a problem, except what I took to be some sort of couch covering with very large polka dots decorating it, was in fact big sheet circles of freshly pressed pasta laid out. They were very forgiving and gracious, though, as they smushed some of the torn sheets back together. John was also making his own brandy and wine while we were there. It was pretty interesting to see, but kinda stinky. Their grapes were soooo delicious. Seriously, I mentioned to Z that they were the best grapes I'd ever had, and I've had a lot of grapes in my life. Okay, mostly from grocery stores, but these almost didn't even TASTE like grapes. They were small and sweet and stained the tongue purple almost immediately. So, so good. Anyway, N&B loved "helping" sweep and feed/water the chickens, etc. at their house. It was a lot of fun for them.

Here they are taking water to the chickens.

We headed to the little town of Biertan as a day-trip from Sighisoara. It's in what's known as "Saxon Land," and was a typical little Saxon town with a big fortified church. No one was at the church when we got there, so we had the whole place to ourselves to wander about. Actually, we weren't able to go inside, but we didn't really mind, the grounds were plenty interesting.

The views into the town/countryside from the church walls were gorgeous. The pics don't do it justice. It was misty, and the sun was getting ready to set...cows and pigs were making their cow and pig noises. We really enjoyed that little outing.

On our way back home, we took the scenic route through the Southern Carpathian Mountains, also known as the Transylvanian Alps. The road, the Transfagarasan Road (okay, there are little tails and accent-mark-esque things on several of those letters, and on one of the s's in "Sighisoara", but I'm not as cool as Z and don't have the patience to find or the brilliance to already know how to type Romanian letters...) was luckily still open (usually closed from sometime in October until April due to weather) and it was beautiful! And long.

We stopped a little ways up at a place with a cable car, and waterfall, etc. but the cable car for some unknown reason wasn't running. Oh well! Plenty to do anyway!

...Like throw rocks into freezing water for 1/2 an hour. Gotta love two-year-olds. Of course, they both wanted to get IN the water...I barely could keep Nuala in her shoes. Bran also had fun "fishing" with a nice, slimy stick. Then we ate at the hotel restaurant by the cable car and enjoyed the least-friendly waitstaff ever. It was almost amusing how unfriendly they were. And they weren't MEAN, they were just very, very, very...long-faced? Like every single one of them had a favorite dog that had died that very morning AND their significant other broke up with them on the phone. No, via email. NO...via their Facebook wall. It was just different. Though the chicken cordon bleu was quite tasty...

Pretty fall colors. Much more vivid in real life, of course. It was so lovely! We had beautiful weather the whole time. We actually kinda wanted gloomy weather; just makes the whole Transylvania trip more...Dracula-y, ya know? But it was beautiful.

This is Vlad's (Dracula) real castle. Built by Turkish prisoners. We didn't go up to it. The 1400+ steps were a slight discouragement. That+napping children+pregnant me = not the most enticing trek. Maybe next time. But it looked cool perched up on the hill.

And the end! The ass's end! Or, I guess, the ass's ... (That was terrible! My mother made me say that! She has great influence in my life.) But yes. Cute little guy, huh? We had fun, made memories, the kiddos can practically quote the first season of She-Ra thanks to the handy-dandy Explorer DVD player (they didn't quite appreciate the scenery as much as Z and I did), and we all made it back in one piece...no bite marks! A good trip.

they make me laugh

2009-10-06T08:53:00.011-02:00

All kids say funny stuff, and these two rascals are no different. By the way, isn't Bran seriously a handsome little guy?? Is that fishing for compliments for my own child? I think so, but, still...Look how dapper he looks in his little suit! I love it. Nuala's quite gorgeous too, of course, but something about a suit on a little boy... These shots were an attempt to document how well they shine up for church (Nuala didn't really wear the hat TO church...just had fun with it beforehand). Turned out pretty well, shockingly...

Anyway, funny things they've said lately...and it's kinda Bran-heavy, just because I've been in range of something to jot them down with when he's said these (Nuala can bust out the funnies, too, I'll try to write down more of hers).:

Me: (to myself, as I was putting together the really cool Indiana Jones lego set my bro gave me) I have no clue how to put this together...

Bran: (encouragingly from the sidelines) You know how put this together! You big! You can do it!

--------------------

Bran: (to me, as he's trying to get me to look for an impossibly lost little item) Have to wook awound! (switches exasperated voice to one of bribery) If you wook awound, I give to you this queso... (enticingly holding out the cheese he's been gnawing on.)

--------------------

Bran: I not want leche (milk) or pasas (raisins)! I WANT my bones to break! (he wanted his cereal all by itself, and I had been telling him that milk would keep his bones strong)

Nuala: (looking at a random ad that popped up on Zac's facebook) Who's that?

Zac: Glenn Beck.

Nuala: I like him! I want marry him!

--------------------

Nuala: (stroking Bran's head) I like your hair. You're weally handsome, Ban. I want to marry you.

(The child is obviously on a getting married kick)

Nuala: (peering into my lotion bottle) Let me look with my blue ojo (eye)!

--------------------

Me: I think a spider bit you...

Bran: It make me turn into Spidyman?

Nuala: Spider bite me, too!

Bran: Make you turn into Spidyman?

Nuala: No, I turn into niña (girl) Spidyman!

--------------------

Bran: (at breakfast, sticking his arms behind his back) I have no arms!

Me: That would be sad!

Bran: But why?

Me: Well, you couldn't hold your tse-tse (what he calls his blankie), or suck your thumb, or hug your mommy, or fight with swords, or wrestle with Nuala...

Nuala: Ban wrestle with him boca (mouth)!

Bran: (scoffingly) I no wrestle with my boca! It might be owie, my teeth might bite you!

Bran: (in the car, rather foolishly directing a question at a screaming, tantrum-throwing Nuala) What you like to eat, Buggy?

Nuala: (incoherent screaming because he dared talk to her)

Bran: No yell at me! Say something, Daddy...say, "no yell!"

--------------------

Bran: (coming in from the backyard, talking to himself) He-MAN, He-MAN, He-MAN...

Bran: (in a high-pitched voice) What you talkin' about, Ban?

Bran: (normal voice) I talkin' about He-MAN! Like DIS! He-MAN, He-MAN, He-MAN...

Veliko Tarnovo: "City of the Tsars"

2009-10-02T12:40:00.000-03:00

We headed out to Veliko Tarnovo the weekend of the 19th and stayed Sat-Mon. It was nice and gloomy, with clouds low over the mountains. Perfect for a road trip! (not sarcastic) Veliko Tarnovo is also known as "City of the Tsars" and was the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire -- said in my best lecturing voice...

It was a 3-ish hour drive, and after getting to our hotel and "convincing" the kiddos to take a nap, we headed up in the afternoon to see the gigantic fortress spread over the top of Tsarevets Hill. This hilltop was used by pretty much everybody who ever claimed the area. It is a great position after all... The Thracians, Romans, Byzantines, Slavs, and Bulgars all used it as a defensive position/fortress. 22 successive kings ruled from the palace here. And apparently it was quite the place. Just foundations now, but back in the day...oh yeah.

I'm not sure if this is the tower, but one of them was where Tsar Kaloyan imprisoned the Latin emperor Baldwin I after his capture when the crusaders were defeated in the early 1200s. Then he was executed. Hmm...no, I don't think that's the tower. But I already wrote all that, so it's staying. At the other end of the fortress complex was a big rock known as Execution Rock. Guess what happened there? Yep. Traitors, etc. were shoved off it into the Yantra River below. Though from what we calculated, unless the river was mighty different back then, they probably met their fate along the rocky cliff before they ever made it into the water.

(Oh, THAT'S Baldwin Tower, the one Bran's headed towards!)

Bran has discovered that the hilt of his foam swords are much more scream-inflicting than the foam part and now often decides to fight that way, much to the dismay and annoyance of the rest of us. Especially when we're attacked, unsuspecting, from behind. No sense of honor yet, that one.

We paid, yes paid, for the tykes to dress up as little knights. This was at the gate going in, and we didn't do it till on the way out, and ALL Bran talked about the entire time we were inside the fortress was dressing up like an owie-pokie knight. So obviously we had to let the poor boy live the dream. We half hoped he'd forget about it so that his cheap -- I mean, frugal -- parents could slip past, but nope. And I'm glad he didn't, he enjoyed it so much!

He was so cute, took it all very seriously. This was the biggest smile we could get out of him. And his little arm stayed stuck up in the air the whole time. He was seriously frozen in place. Just moved his eyes back and forth. I love our little Knight!

Nuala didn't take it all that seriously. But then again, being a knight isn't all that big a deal to her...

Coming out of the gate looking at the city.

Looking back towards the fortress.

Looking down on part of the town of Veliko Tarnovo from the drawbridge. You can still see part of the fortress curving off in the top right corner...told ya, it's huge!

Sunday morning, right before heading out to church, N&B were highly entertained for several minutes watching the espresso maker make hot water. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything Mormon-friendly in the little basket of coffees and teas, but it was still quite engrossing. We actually didn't find the church...we had an address off the internet, but couldn't find it, and had we found it, it wouldn't have mattered. The missionaries in our branch told us last Sunday that 3 weeks earlier the branch in Veliko Tarnovo moved into a hotel lobby for its meeting-place. Oh well. We still had a nice quiet Sunday, did Sunday-ish things.

Playing at a local park was a definite highlight of the weekend for Nuala and Bran. I don't get it... they'll hardly ever stop and smile nicely for me while they're playing...weird, huh?! Like they're busy or something!

Cool picture above someone's garage of a tsar being crowned.

This Church of Sveti Dimitar... during its consecration in 1185, the Tsars Asen and Petar (brothers) proclaimed an uprising against Byzantine rule, which led to the 2nd Bulgarian empire. That lasted until 1396.

You can kinda see some of the fortress walls above this part of the city, too. Man, we spent FORever on this bridge...throwing rocks and sticks and rotting pieces of wood in. Watching the fish down below...good stuff, bridges and rivers. Luckily no one dove through the huge spaces between the slats. There were a couple of close calls with Z, but I got to him in time...haha.

We could just look forever at the houses, etc. lining the hill up from the gorge. It was so picturesque...hence, the pictures.

Nuala scaring a snail half to death on the walk up the skinny side streets to the main street. It's so tempting to pry them off walls, poor little things.

Our hotel is down there somewhere. Sigh...so pretty...

Cats, cats, cats! Everywhere! This little guy reminded Z and I of the ill-fated Tucker. He was so friendly and playful. N&B loved him.

Wow, this looks so out of place after all those Veliko T. pics. We stopped at a cave on the way back, and really wished we coulda gone on a nice hike. The scenery around it was beautiful. However, the whole being pregnant, and 2-year olds, and 4-hour trail and naptime thing just all added up to a really bad idea, so we made do with the cool cave and a mini-hike. And then we went home!

Well, no. Then the kiddos fell asleep and Z and I had the brillant plan to go out of our way to a teeny little place in the book that sounded cool but ended up taking way longer than we thought and wasn't all that cool but maybe had just lost some of its coolness because of how long it was taking and because the sweetly-sleeping children were starting to stir and then it took us about an extra hour to get home and the previously-sweetly-sleeping children were turning into very tantrumy, can't-please-'em-with-ANYthing children. But the drive was pretty, and we liked how our GPS was totally blank except for our little car.

Anyway, we loved Veliko Tarnovo! It was nice to take a little bit longer of a trip, actually stay at a hotel instead of smushing the whole visit into a day.

Longest. Church. Activity. Ever. (or that's how it felt)

2009-09-29T11:59:00.004-03:00

(This particular activity was actually a couple of weeks ago, but I forgot to post this...)

For the past few Sundays, they've been announcing in our little branch of the church here that they were planning to have an activity to teach the Americans (me and Susan) how to make bahnitsa and moussaka. Bahnitsa is a traditional Bulgarian pastry, usually filled with sirene (see-ray-nay), a soft, white Bulgarian cheese. We actually like it better with apples or something, but the cheese is yummy, too. Moussaka is found in lots of countries round about here, more or less a casserole-type dish, made with lots of veggies and ground meat. Anyway, as much as I like food, the planned 4+ hour activity didn't sound fun at all to me. The women were supposed to show up at 1pm, and the men not until 5pm, at which time we would all enjoy the fruits of our labors and then have a sort of devotional and clean the building. Sigh.

And I do, overall, enjoy going to and supporting church activities. I think it's important to be supportive and it's a great way to get to know each other and help build up/strengthen each other, etc. But this one...oh man. I was dreading it all week. What got to me was that naptime for the twins AND me is from about 2-4, and this meant NO NAP for Fiona. And I find them very important. Also, four hours with a bunch of women who are VERY nice, but speak almost no English sounded very, very, very long.

Anyway, blah blah blah... I went because I didn't want to let them down and they were being so sweet doing this for us. Susan showed up for about 45 mins because she had a prior singing engagement, and then it was just me. Oh boy, those were the longest 4 hours...Then the others showed up and we ate, etc. and didn't get home till 8pm. That's SEVEN hours. Long, long time. And having several opinionated women all trying to direct you in Bulgarian at the same time in spreading cheese filling or chopping cucumbers (tasks I am fairly competent at, or so I thought) can really make ya antsy...

BUT, I did learn how to make moussaka, and my bahnitsa turned out quite superbly. And I zipped over to the grocery store with a couple of the women to buy a few more ingredients and the grocery boy flirted with me, which is rather strange and especially unexpected when you're pregnant. AND I successfully peeled many, many potatoes with a huge, serrated bread knife. Something I've never tried before because of the ritzy potato peeler we have. With NO blood, woohoo! Though, speaking of blood, Nuala, in her usual enthusiastic and klutzy way, ended up busting her lip on the table and screaming bloody murder. And THEN one of the old Bulgarian women, the one who kept talking to me a TON in Bulgarian and waiting for a response the whole 4 hours we were working on the meal (like the 3rd or 4th or 11th time I would have magically learned Bulgarian ;) got stuck in the bathroom and we all were trying to bust her out and finally a short, fat little grandma grabbed the handle and with inhuman strength wrenched the door open. It was great. See what I woulda missed out on if I had ditched? And even though our conversations were limited, it was nice feeling the shared spirit with the sweet and bossy Bulgarian women who share our faith.

So, I'm glad I went. Even though I smelled like moussaka clear down to my undies and had to change and shower immediately because my stomach decided it couldn't take it anymore. But still, glad.

went to London and saw my Baby...

2009-09-25T03:05:00.010-03:00

...and SHE is dang cute. Yep, it's a girl! Coulda slapped me with a dead fish and I wouldn't have been more surprised. We were totally feelin' the boy vibe. Erin (my sister) and I were both there for 2 days cause she's at the embassy in Poland and is about a week behind me pregnant. It was a ton of fun; we had a great time hanging out and seeing what we could cram in that short amount of time. But the highlight was definitely finding out that we each have a little girl in there! I didn't get any, um..."girl" pictures, because I had the doc just write in an envelope what we were having so I could open it on the phone with Z, but if you're wondering what she looks like, you can go to N&B's pics, and her bottom half looks like Nuala, but her little profile looks more like Bran's. Boy, those two had some clear pics. Maybe I'll get the scanner hooked up soon, but for now...

Whew. Poor Bran, who's still insisting it's a boy baby. He'll come around. Lucky Nuala. Sisters are awesome! We're so excited!

(And I still reserve the rights to my boy name, Aislinn!!)

"Jesus might..."

2009-09-17T12:58:00.007-03:00

The other day we were standing on the guest room balcony, and of course my little monkeys were attempting to climb up on the railing to get a better view over. I, being the wonderful mother that I am, showed them how to get a better foothold and perch precariously on the top, enjoying the view...no, no, no! Had you there for a minute, didn't I? No, of course I told them how dangerous it was and how they would smash on the porch below and probably die. Or at least get hurt a whole LOT and have to go to the doctor and get (gasp!) a needle in their arm. That's the worst scenario for them. Needles in the arm. The whole dying thing...I mean, they know that they'll go be with Jesus and still be HAPPY, so I try to balance that with how sad their mommy and daddy and whichever twin is left will be, and how they themselves won't see the rest of us for a while and would probably miss us...so sometimes I find that tricky. I want them to NOT want to die but I want them to know it's not a horrible thing that is looming in the future, you know?

Anyway...sweet Nuala. The faith of a child. Unprovoked, she started talking about how "Jesus might come down out of the sky and catch me! And Him give me to you!" It was so cute, seeing how she truly believed that could happen. Which it could, of course. So then I had to get her to say it again, so I could video it and share it with y'all :)

In case you can't decipher all the Nuala-speak, this is what she says (and I'm not including what I say, because hopefully, for my sake, I am understandable):

-Jesus might catch me...

-yeah, Him might catch me, Him might hold me and catch me...

-hold me...

-Him might hold me...

-Him might say hi...

-Him might--Jesus might say hi...

-huh?...

-Him want to play with--maybe Him want to come home...

[Bran: what Noona holding acá (Span. "here" He was looking at her on the camera screen)?]

-Him want to turn movie on, too...

-But Him want to.

Then I stuck Bran on the end saying "real cool!" Just 'cause he's cute. Don't you love the bedhead? That's normal. Even in the middle of the day. Poor boy needs a haircut.

I sure love these two!

Getting big...

2009-09-11T01:37:00.010-03:00

Yesterday, the kiddos were drawing when Nuala came up to me and said, "I draw 'A'!" And sure enough, there it was. An almost perfect 'A'. She then proceeded to enjoy her newfound skill by "drawing" lots and lots of A's. It was so cute how pleased she was with herself! She's pretty good at them, but does she have to get big so fast??

We haven't been working on writing hardly at all. I mean, sometimes when I'm writing their names, I let them hold the marker or whatever and guide their hand, but that's it. Maybe she's ready to start... She accidentally drew an 'N' later, but doesn't quite have that down... It's really interesting having these guys and seeing their differences at exactly the same age. Bran will color for about 30 seconds before he's off looking for a sword or foraging for food or climbing something he shouldn't be climbing...Nuala will sit and draw and color for a good chunk of time. She loves it!

I taught the kids' class (N&B and the only other little one, 4-yr old Mia) at church on Sunday, and brought a little Noah's Ark craft to do that involved some coloring and then gluing animals in the ark. Nuala and Mia enjoyed it, and took their time, but Bran...after his 30 seconds the boy was done and ready to bounce off the walls. Luckily I knew he'd be like that (I mean, he is 2), so I was ready for it, but still...the difference is interesting. And not to brag, but Mia did say, "You're a GREAT teacher!" Yeah...I know...haha ;) Unfortunately, I had to drag the compliments out of my own two, but again, I blame that on their age. Yeah.

And here she is with her potty chart! Filled it all up with stickers really, really fast. Actually, the potty charts were mostly to get Bran interested/excited about going on the potty since she was pretty much done training by the time we started them, but it hasn't really taken with him. In the 2 weeks we've had it, he's gone...maybe 6 times? Sigh. Nuala is potty trained totally, except we put a diaper on her at night just 'cause we haven't bought any mattress protectors yet. But even so, she's almost always dry in the mornings. It's great! Now if only Bran would decide he's ready...that boy loves his diapers!

Rila Monastery

2009-09-09T15:40:00.002-03:00

Ahhhh............ just look at that.............. isn't it pretty? Saturday we went to Rila Monastery, an Eastern Orthodox one about 40 miles away, but a 2-ish hour drive. It's tucked up in the Rila Mountains, and was just lovely!

I look pretty good here. Nuala...well, she's had better moments. But I look good. Isn't that the hugest frown ever? I mean, her mouth is actually an upside-down "U". Amazing. If you saw what she was looking at, you would say, "Of course! That explains it!" So, HERE is what she was looking at. Well, actually, not the EXACT picture, but a very similar one:

And honestly, these pictures of poor souls being dragged down to the fiery pits of hell and being devoured by monstrous dragon-thingies didn't really bother so much as fascinate them. I just thought that would be a good explanation for the hugest frown ever.

The inside of the church was very cool, too, but we couldn't take pictures inside.

In Bulgaria there are water "fountains" all over the place. It's spring water, and people stop for drinks, or to fill up their water bottles, or splash their heads or wash their feet. Even along the sides of the roads driving between towns there are little springs like these. This one was, obviously, in the monastery. And of course whenever we come across one, N&B have a hay-day getting drinks...splashing...you know...

This one was all fancy and had a little scoop chained to it. Even MORE fun!

So pretty..... did I say that already?

The rooms, etc. on the inside of the walls surrounding the courtyard and actual church. You can stay overnight here.

Another fountain...another water scoop...another cute and "thirsty" kiddo.

A little monastery cat. He was awesome. Didn't crack an eye from the moment these two excited 2-yr olds ran over to him and proceeded to pet (nicely, for the most part), poke, gently tail-pull, and even kiss him. The kissing thing I was okay with until I went to pet him and felt how grungy and scabby he was. Yeah, I didn't encourage any more besos... And yes, he was definitely alive. The tail twitched, he moved ever-so-slightly, but never looked at us or panicked, which is quite amazing when accosted...I mean approached by young and exuberant children. He didn't seem to be sickly either, despite his grunginess. Just a peacefully pooped cat who couldn't be bothered to move from his comfy stair.

Some of the icons for sale. I still hafta get a pic of the oodles of icons for sale downtown. But these were pretty nice. And expensive. Pictures are our only souvenirs from here. We really liked this nice carved one of St. George and the dragon (the wooded one above...with the guy on the horse spearing the dragon), but it was over $100! There was another one I really liked, a sweet one of Mary and the Christ child, but it was a lot, too. Most of the Madonna/Child ones are kinda severe looking, but this one was very loving and warm. If only we weren't so cheap! Frugal. I mean frugal... No, really, it was nice, but expensive. I'll find a cheaper copy one day, and if not, eh. We have lots of nice pictures already.

We bought some doughnuts at the bakery outside the gates afterwards. They were very scone-like, and really good with the all-natural, homemade sheeps milk yogurt we got, too. It was good, very tart and tangy. At the bottom it got quite lumpy, which mentally grossed me out a bit, but it tasted delicious.

Then we frolicked down a path through the woodsy area. We like to frolic.

I wish this picture turned out better. Despite my considerable skills, I couldn't fix it, but it's still cute! :)

Hanging out on a big ol' bridge. It was really gorgeous there. We want to go back when the snow starts. Just a little, not a lot. Of snow, I mean, not how much we want to go back.

The small villages we drove through to get there and back were loaded with grapes. All along the streets, the houses and stores had awnings/frames above the sidwalk with grapes growing super thickly. It was so neat! They were getting fat and purple...yummm...

Plovdiv

2009-09-09T15:41:00.016-03:00

Monday, of course, was Labor Day, and since poor Zachariah has to have US and Bulgarian holidays off when we all know he'd rather be working, we took another day trip to Plovdiv, about 2 hrs away. It's the 2nd largest city in Bulgaria, after Sofia, and has loads of cultural and other events. We didn't go to any, but it really has that vibe...you know. It's very old, started out as a Thracian settlement, and then was conquered by Alexander the Great's father, Phillip the II of Macedon (that's a statue of him in the pic below). It also has a lot of history as a literary and art center, and was an important city during the Bulgarian national movement, during Ottoman rule, which led eventually to the uprising/liberation of Bulgaria.

This is the Roman stadium. Most of it is underneath the streets and buildings, but this part you can look down on.

Here's the Roman amphitheatre. It was really fun to go down there! They still perform operas and shows here. How cool would it be to go watch one?! In a 2nd-century Roman amphitheatre...pretty cool...

Nuala and Bran are those itty-bitty people in the front, dancing for the audience.

And a picture from down on the stage.

Ready for the show to start...

The steps were crazy steep. Crazy. And these ones don't really show it well, but some of the others were super worn...as in, there was practically a bowl where your foot would go. Makes you wonder about all the other feet over the centuries that stepped there...

The main pedestrian thouroughfare. The houses and buildings were so pretty. Apparently there are a lot of house museums here, but we didn't feel the timing was right to drag N&B into one of those. Timing = sanity-of-parents, in this case.

Nuala had fun whispering secrets to this old fellow. Bran was a little weirded out.

We stopped for Doners at this little place, and Bran begged and begged to try out the toy machine. So we let him. With Z's help -- just a little -- he snagged a little stuffed puppy on his first try! He was so excited. Unfortunately, then Nuala thought SHE was going to automatically get one, too...Yeah, life is full of disappointments, girlie... The Nuala-sized complaints that erupted (and that is a perfect word for them) when her claw came back empty were slightly embarrassing, but no one knows us there, so oh well!

Pink ice cream afterwards helped make it all better, anyway! She was really good about spooning bits into everyone's mouth, even Bran's. We had such a fun time! Well, there were some 2-yr old moments (besides the toy issue), but still, a fun time. We really are enjoying our opportunity to be here in Bulgaria!

(hey, it's 09/09/09 today!)