The Scott/Spang Family, January 2008
Skeeter was here for Christmas, but Bethany and Jeffrey came for just a few days in January. It was WONDERFUL to have everybody here! After they had come and gone, I realized this was the only family picture we had taken, but it says it all! We are so excited about the June 3rd arrival of our grandchild!
Mark and Skeeter "bonded" by going cross-country skiing--a first for Skeeter, and an activity Mark has enjoyed for years. The beard thing on Skeeter was borne out of laziness, or so says the grower of the hair. However, a month later, and he still has it. And why not?!
When at home, Bethany and Jeffrey usually make pizza on Friday nights. Well, we hated to make them break tradition, so we asked them to fix dinner for us. Nothing like hot pizza from the oven. And speaking of something "in the oven," by the evening each day, that baby really makes himself/herself known! Bethany is about 20 weeks along in this pic. No, they don't know what they're having, and a sonogram is not in sight...but several people are THINKING 'it's a girl.' Time will tell!
No longer a teenager: Skeeter celebrated his 20th birthday while home. What did he want for a birthday dinner? Indian food! Shrimp Coconut Kourma, to be exact.
On Christmas day, Mark, Skeeter and I enjoyed a leisurely morning. We ate a late breakfast, read the Christmas story, and opened gifts. In the afternoon we were blessed with the company of two Egyptian families, and together we enjoyed a very non-traditional Christmas meal. I made, let's say I attempted to make, lamb mensef (which is actually a Jordanian meal, but it's Middle Eastern, so it was close) and I also made dolma (I forget the Egyptian name), which are stuffed grape leaves. The recipe said to just put a tablespoon of rice and meat mixture, but the leaves were so big, I added more filling. I forgot that the raw rice would expand. My dolma were squatty, fat little things (instead of long, finger-shaped ones) but they tasted ok. Our friends appreciated my efforts. They also listened to the three of us sing a number of Christmas carols (accompanied, in part, by Mark on the accordion.) Mark has an Arabic hymnal, so beforehand he copied a few of the songs so they could read along. What a great opportunity.
After dinner we played Pit. What fun! This is such a noisy game, and Egyptians are not shy about hollering like you're supposed to. If you don't own this game, we highly recommend you buy it--and PLAY it!
And a final shot. This is pretty much a nightly appearance: deer in our backyard. We've counted as many as nine (sometimes including three bucks). A neighbor said she saw 14 deer in our yard one day. In the winter, they're beautiful. In the summer, when they're decimating gardens, they are not so cute.
Skeeter was here for Christmas, but Bethany and Jeffrey came for just a few days in January. It was WONDERFUL to have everybody here! After they had come and gone, I realized this was the only family picture we had taken, but it says it all! We are so excited about the June 3rd arrival of our grandchild!
Mark and Skeeter "bonded" by going cross-country skiing--a first for Skeeter, and an activity Mark has enjoyed for years. The beard thing on Skeeter was borne out of laziness, or so says the grower of the hair. However, a month later, and he still has it. And why not?!
When at home, Bethany and Jeffrey usually make pizza on Friday nights. Well, we hated to make them break tradition, so we asked them to fix dinner for us. Nothing like hot pizza from the oven. And speaking of something "in the oven," by the evening each day, that baby really makes himself/herself known! Bethany is about 20 weeks along in this pic. No, they don't know what they're having, and a sonogram is not in sight...but several people are THINKING 'it's a girl.' Time will tell!
No longer a teenager: Skeeter celebrated his 20th birthday while home. What did he want for a birthday dinner? Indian food! Shrimp Coconut Kourma, to be exact.
On Christmas day, Mark, Skeeter and I enjoyed a leisurely morning. We ate a late breakfast, read the Christmas story, and opened gifts. In the afternoon we were blessed with the company of two Egyptian families, and together we enjoyed a very non-traditional Christmas meal. I made, let's say I attempted to make, lamb mensef (which is actually a Jordanian meal, but it's Middle Eastern, so it was close) and I also made dolma (I forget the Egyptian name), which are stuffed grape leaves. The recipe said to just put a tablespoon of rice and meat mixture, but the leaves were so big, I added more filling. I forgot that the raw rice would expand. My dolma were squatty, fat little things (instead of long, finger-shaped ones) but they tasted ok. Our friends appreciated my efforts. They also listened to the three of us sing a number of Christmas carols (accompanied, in part, by Mark on the accordion.) Mark has an Arabic hymnal, so beforehand he copied a few of the songs so they could read along. What a great opportunity.
After dinner we played Pit. What fun! This is such a noisy game, and Egyptians are not shy about hollering like you're supposed to. If you don't own this game, we highly recommend you buy it--and PLAY it!
And a final shot. This is pretty much a nightly appearance: deer in our backyard. We've counted as many as nine (sometimes including three bucks). A neighbor said she saw 14 deer in our yard one day. In the winter, they're beautiful. In the summer, when they're decimating gardens, they are not so cute.
Aren't these a beautiful group of women? These are some of the women I teach thru the Cross Culture Club. (Two women left and four more have joined since this pic was taken.) God has given me such a love for these wonderful women! We have a great time learning together, and it always thrills me when I see friendships develop between students. I always teach them about the motto: "If mama aint' happy, ain't nobody happy." Of course I have to explain the slang, but they understand the principle: A woman's attitude has a huge influence over everybody under her roof! Not all of these women are married, nor are all mothers, but they know that they need to work at finding joy while they're here for the good of all concerned.
