I am getting tired of seeing that unflattering picture of myself….. Doesn’t anyone have anything interesting to say these days?
P.S. The pictures The Farm sent Sim & Janelle for their birthdays were extremely lovely. Who took them? How can I get one?
(This picture is of Pinhead and me, s/he is starting to make her presence known. We are at the bottom of month three, and I am starting to show just a little.)
Well I spent the weekend in Albuquerque at Stephany Nisly’s wedding. The event was lovely, and all the Byler relatives were delighted to realize my connection to “that Louise Schlabach who used to come up to the store with a whole string of kids in tow and buy all sorts of natural foods, my weren’t they so dear.”
I got a frightful case of pregnancy/altitude sickness, and am quite happy to be home again with my guts firmly attached. Thanks to all those who made recommendations on my treatment. It wasn’t bad enough to keep me from marching down the isle in the wedding, but it did prevent me from being able to stand up the whole time, and caused a certain degree of trepedation about the misfiring of bodily functions, which thankfully (for all) proved to be unfounded.
I got home yesterday to find Aram and Priska very happy and the house spick and span. I suggested to Aram that we permanently switch roles–since he has concluded that all one can do with children in tow is cook and clean, he has started applying his “spare” energy to those functions, with striking results.
I was also delighted to find my indoor broccoli has sprouted, and the basil is starting to peek it’s head out of the soil. The ground outside is still frozen, hopefully they’ll be happy inside with us for awhile yet.
“There’s a shortage of perfect [faces] in this world; tis a pity to ruin yours” as is the line in the American classic, Princess Bride, spoken by dear darling Wesley to his betrothed as she–believeing he is dead–is about to kill herself. Anyway, I thought the sentiment could apply here as well, to Issac, that is, about his face. Once it was verified that he was going to survive, my first thoughts were to the prognosis of his face. It would be a shame for mankind to lose such a face; I think it has very high potential for being quite stunning.
Are there any more recent pictures? I’m thinking of something a little more redeptive and less grotesque than the last one.
Why does cooked spinach make your teeth gritty?
Debbi
Sim and I are having an on going conversation about the treadmills. Is it really the same to run 3 miles on a treadmill as it is to run 3 miles outside where the ground is not already moving underneath you?
We welcome feedback.
Here are some pics from our trip. We had an amazing time and God showed Himself to be ever-present and all-knowing. It was a privilege to be in the midst of a great work that as been anticipated for months, actually materialize. I really can’t think of a down side to this experience.
The view from a ferry going down the Bosphorus.
Lots of little boats, bigger boats, and huge tankers going down the Bosphorus.
The spice bazaar with dried fruit and spices
We did a lot of traveling in ferries like this one to get from one side of the Bosphorus to the other. In case you don’t know, Istanbul is divided by the Bosphorus in to the European side and the Asian side. Millions of people travel back and forth everyday.
The Blue Mosque.
The Hagia Sophia.
Chad, Deborah, Sim and I traveled around together for a few days before the rest of the group arrived. This is us sitting on some castle ruins that we climbed to at the end of a tour we took up the Bosphorus River. We could see from the top of the hill we climbed where the Bosphorus meets the Black Sea.
In front of the Blue Mosque.
The cast of the play we there to support.
The wisemen who were trying to figure this whole Jesus thing out. They were hilarious.
While we were in Turkey we spent a lot of time praying for the country, they play, and the work being done there. In coming back and getting into the regular swing of things, I wonder what life would be like if we would continue to pray with such urgency and expectancy as we did in Turkey. Something for me to think about.
Blessings,
Janelle
Hey, fam! I got this from work and thought it was hilarious. I laugh every time I re-read the list, ENTIRELY too realistic…..
Christmas Carols for the Mentally Ill
* 1. Schizophrenia — Do You Hear What I Hear?
* 2. Multiple Personality Disorder — We Three Kings Disoriented Are
* 3. Dementia — I Think I’ll be Home for Christmas
* 4. Narcissistic — Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me
* 5. Manic — Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streetsand Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Treesand…..
* 6. Paranoid — Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me
* 7. Borderline Personality Disorder — Thoughts of Roasting on an OpenFire
* 8. Personality Disorder — You Better Watch Out, I’m Gonna Cry, I’mGonna Pout, Maybe I’ll Tell You Why
* 9. Attention Deficit Disorder — Silent night, Holy oooh look at theFroggy - can I have a chocolate, why is France so far away?
* 10. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - - - Jingle Bells,! Jingle Bells,Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,Jingle Bells, Jingle,Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells,Jingle Bells
Here’s some more pictures as well as the text from sim and my xanga site. Oh, the good times.
So, we were in Missouri over Thanksgiving weekend, and as always, fun was had by all! We had a little trouble getting there because of the first vehicle breaking down about an hour and a half from columbus. Debbie, Tirzah, Chad, and Priska had left earlier then everyone else so they could make more stops so Priska(now 14 months) would have more time to get out and run around. After they broke down, I (Janelle) ended up taking them Simeon’s car so they could get going again and I sat in the broken car til the boys could come and save the day. They came about an hour later, and decided they would have to save the day on the way back from Missouri. The first diagnosis was that the transmission went out, but then after hearing some major clunking when the wheels turned, they discovered it was something with the drive shaft. Yay for not loosing the transmission. anyway, it ended up taking no more than a half an hour to fix on the way home and the story has a very happy ending. While we were there, we did thinks like: make hobo meals and cook them in a fire, in a fire pit, by a woods, by a spring. That was the first day. we hiked in the woods, and the original DiGennaros cleaned out the spring: which was hilarious to watch. 
The rest of the time we spent cooking, eating, and having a grand old time together. yay for family. now it’s back to reality. Finals week is next week and the studying has begun. That also means that two weeks from yesterday we will be heading to Turkey. WWAAAAHHHOOO! Yeah, that’s pretty stinkin exciting. Here’s a couple of pics from last weekend…..
Aram and Sim trying to fix the car.
My man chopping manly firewood.
Moravia and her cuteness.
Tirzah and Priska
And again…
Dancing with Grandma, notice she is wearing nothing but a little scarf.
Amazing sunsets from the the top of the fire tower.
Sim and I have made it a tradition to watch the sunset from the top of the fire tower everytime we go to Missouri. So far we’ve done it everytime.
Dear Friends and Relations,
We had just about the best time ever in the history of the world over the Thanksgiving Holiday! Everybody got here Wednesday, but Thursday had such great weather, we postponed the Meal ’til Friday and all went to KainTuck Hollow for an outing that (not surprisingly) turned into a swim for many of us. After a fire-cooked meal, we all hiked to the tunnel cave, except that none of us found it even though we separated into three or more groups and got lost from each other for a while.
The rest of the holiday reunion was filled with food, family, and friends. Sunday, we sent the groups off with prayers and pictures, including several we’ll not see until after their visits to other countries across the wide blue Atlantic! The weekend ended rather inauspiciously with Bill driving a friend’s 4-wheeler into their pond. (You didn’t hear about that?)
Jess asked that this be posted, and besides, I couldn’t see it on my computer without putting it on here.
it’s a shame pictures don’t turn out real good on here, because this one is a dandy. Aram and Priska are laughing at each other as she “assists” him in making a new door for his shed. I came home that night and found them having quite the time together. She is becomming quite a daddy’s girl, hollers when he leaves in the morning, etc.