Coby's travels in Turkey!

 We sure missed Coby during Christmas time.  Right after Christmas Coby was able to travel to some different parts of Turkey.  He went to the home of one of the students he tutors in Istanbul and did some intensive tutoring with him. Afterwards he traveled to various cities and met up with a friend.

 This monastary was the seat of the Syriac Orthodox Patriachate until it was moved to Damascus in 1932.

 A castle where people sleep.

In Şanlıurfa.  This is one of my favorite pictures of Coby since he has been in Turkey!

 At Ankara Anıtkabir at a Memorial. 

 Coby was very sick during the month of December and January.  It is hard to be so far away and also know that he was living alone.  He received medical care, but the doctor only spoke Turkish and Russian and while Coby knows Turkish (is learning it)  he wasn't familiar with the medical terms in Turkish. The only thing we could do was to pray and put his name on the temple roll and call the branch president and see if someone could give him a blessing.   

After being so sick Coby decided to move in with some roommates and it was a win/win for them because they get to practice English with him.  

Kara and I are leaving to go visit Coby in Turkey in a little more than a month.  We have checked out some tour guide books from the library and are excited to see the sights, celebrate Coby's birthday and make memories!
 

Turkey here we come!

Kara and I just reserved our tickets to go and visit Coby in Turkey for his birthday.  We are super excited.  Kara is in shock.   She has never left the country.  Kara wants to travel the world and so Matt really thought she should be able to go too!  Personally, he thinks this trip will cause her to not want to travel the world, but I think it will do the opposite and especially if Coby has anything to do with it!   WOW!!!   We are excited!!!  We will be there almost a week to see Coby and celebrate his birthday and see the sights.  Coby has been keeping us abreast on plane tickets and they just hit a record low now that there is a direct flight to Paris from SLC.  We are super excited to see him in less than 4 months.  I have been working over time to pay for our tickets and since Matt and I have been doing the Dave Ramsey program we have sold some stuff and paid off all of our debt except for our home which we are making LARGE payments too.   Doing this has been giving me much more peace of mind.   It works.  I love having no debt and saving money all over the place.  It has been good for us and now we are excited to go to Turkey.



Below is a picture of Coby finishing another month of Turkish classes!!! 

We are planning a trip for a family vacation sometime in Jan 2015 or February 2015 to take our home family on a cruise.  It is good to save money for such a fun event.  One of my boys asked me if he were married if we would pay for his wife too!  I was thrilled and of course I said yes. Someone thinking of getting married; this makes me happy!  I can't wait to be a grandma and spoil my grandchildren with love, time and attention. 

Aventures in Istanbul, Turkey!!!

 Coby has been in Turkey for almost two months!  I sure miss him and because the distance is so far I seem to miss him even more. I am so grateful for Skype!!!   There has been some unsettling news there, but Coby has convinced me that it is not a big deal so I am trying hard to not worry.  I am so grateful for prayer.  He sure lives in a beautiful part of the world.    He has moved in a couple different hostels and he just moved into a different place.  Coby with another member of the church who was visiting one Sunday!Coby got called to serve as the Elder's Quorum president of his branch.  There are over 20 million people who live in Istanbul so visiting families and going home teaching are a tad bit more difficult.

Above is a picture of Coby in front of Hagi Sophia which is a former Orthodox Patriarchal Basilica which means   "Shrine of the Holy Wisdom of God." It was completed in 532 AD, the Hagia Sophia was the seat of the Orthodox church for nearly one thousand years.

 

One of the friends Coby met when he first moved to Turkey and he was staying in a hostel.

Coby in front of  Kabatas, Istanbul, Turkey

This picture above was taken  on an Island.  It is called Prince islands.  Which is actually located here: https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&q=prince+islands+istanbul&fb=1&gl=tr&hq=prince+islands&hnear=0x14caa7040068086b:0xe1ccfe98bc01b0d0,Istanbul&cid=0,0,16157051536542552809&ei=jgrUUazgEsHKOcXUgLAJ&ved=0CKsBEPwSMAA



Coby has been extremely busy doing  certificating to teach English as a second language, learning the Turkish language,  being a private tutor,  being the Elder's Quorum president,  teaching the gospel with the missionaries, finding places to live  and working hard acclimating to his new life.

Coby and his friends went on  a ferry ride.   This is  Istanbul's Golden Horn taken from a ferry on the Bosphorus.   I am grateful he lives in such a beautiful part of the world!!!

The things Matt missed

We enveloped Matt back into our arms last week  to welcome him back after 5 days in Dallas.  Boy did I miss my man and I think it’s safe to say he missed us  too.  He didn't enjoy being super close to the tornado's either.

Here are a few of the other things he missed (besides us), for better or for worse:
--watching Kara drive to school each day
--crazy dogs that would fight.
--the happenings of Coby in Turkey
--yummy dinners
--I got released from Young Women's  :( 
--Identity theft on my credit card----AGAIN
--Kara doing a TON of homework until all hours of the night!

Since he has been back:
Coby has found a place to live in Turkey.  No more sharing a room with 8 complete strangers!

He is living (above)  here for a month when a friend he met in Turkey until his friends come and join him next month.  I am excited that he found a place to live.

Kara had her  last school choir concert and she sang a solo.  She did an amazing job!!!!

Kara's doing a lot of homework still.  Seriously, that girl needs to take a break---oh yeah summer is almost here for her to take her break!!!! 

I got a lot of kudos at work---YEAH!!!  I am finally starting to get the hang of it. My boss handed me a gift card since I have been improving so much.   He told my brother I am the FUTURE superstar.  I am sure he was kidding, but it was very nice to receive some positive words when it has taken me so long to really learn about this job.   I had no idea this job could have involved so much work and that it could be this complex.   Someday I will share, but I know I would bore you to tears!

 I did get released from Young Women's after almost serving there for 3 years.  I was completely overwhelmed so it was the right thing, but it was sad, nonetheless.  I love working with the girls, but working with the girls requires a lot of time and I seem to have a short supply of that.

What has been happening according to my camera

 A lot has been going on.  Way too much for my brain to handle. 

 We took a tour of temple square.  Spencer said he had never actually been on one.  It was really neat and the spirit was so strong.

 Unfortunately Colton had to work.

 We went to lunch at the Lion House Pantry.  I have only been here a few times, but every time I go I love it.

 Spencer's birthday!  For dinner he wanted barbecued ribs.  They need to simmer overnight or longer and then they cook for 10 hours.  Spencer makes it a little bit better than me, but they still tasted yummy.

 It was fun to celebrate with everyone together for his birthday.  Coby came home just to be able  to make it to Spencer's birthday!  When he came home he and Spencer went to the temple.

 Coby left for Istanbul, Turkey on May 9th.  His trip was up in the air for almost a week.   To make a long story short, his place of employment got postponed until later, but he still had his plane ticket.  He couldn't decide what to do.  He had several friends who were supposed to go with him, but they all decided to wait to go to Turkey.  So Coby with such a spirit of adventure, decided to go to Turkey alone.  Honestly, it has scared me  silly.  I have been so worried.  He is on my mind at all times.   He thought one of the guys would end up coming and meeting him there, but he missed his plane.  So now Coby is in a hostel by himself,  certifying to teach English as it is a job in high demand in Turkey.  I feel blessed that he  has been in contact with the branch president there and he is helping him, but I also believe in the buddy system.  As much as Coby won't like this, please feel free to include him in your prayers or put his name on the temple roll.  I would greatly appreciate it.

The day before Mother's day when I came home from an all day YW's activity,  these beautiful flowers were waiting for me from Coby with a very sweet note.  I thought it was so thoughtful of him to think of me for Mother's day! My kids all made me a delicious dinner and showered me with fun gifts.  I truly feel blessed to be the mom to all 4 of my children.

I hope soon I have my act together, because it has not been together for many months now.  I cry all the time and get overwhelmed way too easily.  I had to leave in the middle of sacrament  to come home because I was bawling so bad. I have never done that before at church--EVER.  I tried to be pretty discreet, but apparently I wasn't.

I never like to be the one who is having the hard time. I like to help the person who is having the hard time, so this is very unusual for me.  But, I am not going to deny it, because I try to be real and open.  But I certainly hope that I can stop crying  so much and not feel so overwhelmed.  I think I honestly, went 15 years without really crying in public, so maybe it is good, if I am getting in touch with my feelings.  I do feel more isolated since I started working.  My job requires intense problem solving and troubleshooting, that I feel so drained when I come home that I just want to be a hermit.  Of course, that never happens because I have so much to do to catch up, so I feel so tired constantly.  I get up each morning at 5am, so I am not getting enough sleep either.   I keep thinking after I finish this project, it will be better, but that doesn't happen.  There is always something else and most likely always will be.  Someday, soon I will get my act together!!!   I am just grateful for a patient husband and children.  They have all been so willing to pitch in and help!!!