Sunday, February 25, 2007

Miss Bailey

So, while Mark and I were visiting in Turkey, I got to do a photo shoot! These are some of Miss Bailey's "one year" photos!


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FUN FUN FUN

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Now, this is winter.

Ice on the roads, ice on the sidewalks. Things are cancelled because of the weather. THIS IS WINTER like it is in Louisiana! HA HA HA

Look at our web album (link below) for some cool pics of the weekend!

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Hanging on tight . . .

. . . to my roots that is! I took these lists from my friend Rindy's site. I've read them before, but for me, this southern lady learning to live in the midwest, they are gooooood reminders of my native tongue!

Things I've learned living in the South

1. Possums and armadillos sleep in the middle of the road with their feet in the air.

2. There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 live in the South

3. There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000 live in the South plus a couple no one's seen before.

4. If it grows, it sticks; if it crawls, it bites.

5. Onced and twiced are words.

6. It is not a shopping cart; it is a buggy.

7. Fire ants consider your flesh as a picnic.

8. People actually grow and eat okra.

9. Fixinto is one word.

10. There is no such thing as "lunch". There is only dinner and then there is supper.

11. Ice tea is appropriate for all meals, and you start drinking it when you're two. We do like a little tea with our sugar!

12. Backards and forwards means "I know everything about you."

13. Jeet? is actually a phrase meaning "Did you eat?"

14. You don't have to wear a watch because it doesn't matter what time it is. You work until you' re done or it's too dark to see.

15. You don't PUSH buttons, you MASH them.


YOU KNOW YOU'RE FROM the South IF:

1. You measure distance in minutes.

2. You've ever had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.

3. You use "fix" as a verb. Example: "I'm fixing to go to the store "

4. All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect, or animal.

5. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.

6. You know what a "DAWG" is.

7. You carry jumper cables in your car... for your OWN car.

8. You only own four spices: salt, pepper, Tabasco and ketchup.

9. The local papers cover national and international news on one page but require 6 pages for local gossip and sports.

10. You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday.

11. You find 100 degrees Fahrenheit "a little warm".

12. You know all four seasons: Almost Summer, Summer, still Summer and Christmas.

13. You know whether someone is from north or south as soon as they open their mouth.

14. Going to Wal-mart is a favorite pasttime known as goin' Wal-martin or off to Wally World.

15. You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good pinto-bean weather.

16. A carbonated soft drink isn't a soda, cola or pop... it's a Coke, regardless of brand or flavor. Example: "What kinda coke you want?"

17. Fried catfish is the other white meat.

18. We don't need no stinking driver's ed....if our mama says we can drive, we can drive.

19. You understand these jokes and forward them to your Southern friends (and those who just wish they were). Not EVERYONE can be Southern; it's an art form and a gift from God!

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

How sweet!

Check out this cute picture of my sweet husband and Miss Bailey Johnson . . .

More fun stuff to come.


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Monday, February 19, 2007

Last days in Istanbul



So sorry that we didn't keep up the blog those last few days! We enjoyed our last days in Istanbul! We made it home much later than we had anticipated on Saturday night, tired and just ready to be at home. But we carry with us wonderful memories of our time in the city.

The photos above are from our "vacation within a vacation." We found a WONDERFUL hotel in Cengelkoy and stayed there for two nights. The owners of the place had lived in Ames for several years and taught at the university. The Butlers are in one of the pictures with us. For those of you who have traveled to Istanbul, you simply would not believe this place. It is a true treasure, with rooms right on the Bosphorus, unbelievable service, and the coolest atmosphere. Each morning they serve a traditional Turkish breakfast, either in their cafe on the water or brought to your room (see photos of the olives, tomatoes, and cucumbers!) We spent two nights there and celebrated our first Valentine's Day as a married couple there too. We took a tour of Beylerbeyi palace (photos in next collage) and went into Uskudar for the afternoon. When we returned to the hotel, they had made a party for us in our room. They put red and white balloons, little hearts on the pillows, red and white candles, chocolate brownie hearts, and champagne! It was really cute and fun in a very Turkish sense!

I'll do another post or two maybe on Tuesday with the remaining photos. You can also check out our photos at

Have a great day!

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Ephesus

Mark Here....

What a day. Got up at 5am to catch our flight. Only a 45 minute trip to Izmir. The tour had all been arranged and Cem (pron. Jem) was waiting for us. A personal tour guide for the day. Rain was forecast, but when we got down there all we had was 60 and sun. Cem was very knowledgeable and has been a tour guide in this area for 12 years.

Cem....

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Ephesus used to be a port City. In fact, it was the largest city behind Rome and Antioch. The population was 250,000. These collected a lot of taxes from trade as well as money from the Temple of Artemis. (which was one of the 7 wonders of the world). They had a lot of money in which to build a large and beatiful city.


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This is the library. At the time, it was the second largest library in the world (behind Alexandria) with 20,000 parchments/scrolls.

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This is where the Temple of Artemis once stood. (The lone column in the background)
(see also Acts 19)

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Mandy and I at St. John's Basilica. He is buried there after a long life. According to Cem he lived to be about 90.

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We also went to a leather shop and a pottery shop. This is a very slow time of year for them so they were glad to see us, but then disappointed I am sure we didn't buy anything. Although we did pick up a Christmas ornament for next years tree. These are decorated eggs in the style that has been common to the area for centuries.

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We were very glad to be back to Billy and Elizabeth's after the long day.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Walking where Paul walked

Today, we took a day trip to visit the ancient city of Ephesus.We had a great day. The weather was amazing. Really. In February, it is unheard of to see the kind of weather we saw today. The skies were blue as we strolled the marble streets of Ephesus, recalling Acts 19 and other stories from the Bible that mentioned this ancient place. We woke early to catch a flight down to Izmir where Cem, (pronounced Jim. . .) met us to serve as our tour guide for the day. He knows his stuff!

We'll try to post some pictures tomorrow morning. Check back!

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Day Three and Four

We are having so much fun! We are pretty tired at the end of the day, so we haven't been able to blog the past two days. But here's a quick re-cap . . .

We spent most of Saturday with my sweet friend Melda and her son Ahmet Taha. We had lunch at a very cool place with an incredible view and then traveled to more ruins from a castle. Mark will have to fill you in on the history if you want . . .

Here are a few pictures:
Mandy and Melda

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Mark and Ahmet Taha

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Mandy and Mark at Anadolu Kavagi - and the entrance to the Black Sea

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Saturday night was wonderful as well. We had dinner with the Louisiana crowd. Mark finally was introcuced to John and Jen and Maggie and Molly. Mike and Mary B met us for dinner too. It was so great to visit with them all. What sweet memories, what sweet friends. Here's a picture of all of us . . .

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Today (Sunday) we went to church at Hope and were able to say hello to many many old friends. We had lunch at the second largest mall in Europe and were then able to spend the afternoon with Chad and Deanna H. It was fun to be tourists with them!

Tomorrow we travel to Ephesus. It is going to be a wonderful day. We'll post more later.

Friday, February 09, 2007

Day Two Istanbul

We began a lazy Istanbul day with a trip to Rumeli Hisari. Rumeli was a fortress built in four months in the 1400s to stave off reinforcements coming from the Black Sea to overtake Constantinople during the 4th crusade. It is an incredible remnant from the Byzantine/Roman empire. We were able to visit the ruins with our Iowa pal Jodi and with two of our favorite Johnson girls, Elizabeth and Bailey. Here are a few pics from the climb around the "castle."


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The Stenbergs at Rumeli


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Mark climbing around the walls of the fortress


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Rumeli Hisari with the second Bosphorus bridge in the background

After Rumeli, we traveled to Ortakoy - a quaint "village" on the edge of the Bosphorus. We ate lunch here and shopped around a bit. The mosque located in Ortakoy has been featured in a few movies - Armageddon and James Bond - The World is Not Enough. It was another BEAUTIFUL day in Istanbul. The weather has been perfect, unbelievable really for February. I take it as a true answer to prayer. We spent the evening with Jodi and taking care of Miss Bailey Johnson while our hosts Billy and Elizabeth are enjoying their first night away since Bailey's birthday almost a year ago. It is a joy for us to serve them this way.

Here are some more pics from the day. Keep checking back. We'll keep you updated.

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Ortakoy Camii (Mosque)


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Shops and apartments in Ortakoy


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How's this for a lake house? Across the Bosphorus, a sultan's summer palace . . .


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And finally . . . Mimi and Bailey pose for their first picture!

What a day!

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Day One Istanbul

We had a wonderful first day in Istanbul! It began with a wonderful introduction to one Miss Bailey Johnson. And yes, for all who care to know, she is just as amazingly beautiful in person as she is on her website. I love her already. Mark does too!

Queen Elizabeth made a wonderful breakfast for us before we set out on our day's journey. We made our way to the office with Billy to give Mustafa Bey (my language teacher) a gift - a Dr. Pepper. He loved it of course. He says "selam" to Angie Shepherd.


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This picture was taken at the Hagia Sophia.

We then traveled to Sultanahmet, where we visited the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and had lunch at the House of Medusa. Mmmmmmmmm, good stuff. Then, really by God's hand, we stumbled upon a dear friend of mine who used to work at the Grand Bazaar, Bektas, the calligrapher. I did not know where his new shop was, but Mark and I walked RIGHT by it on our way to the tram. I could NOT believe it. We took these great pictures from the balcony of his new shop. Soooooooooooo cool.


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Mark and I from Bektas's balcony; Blue Mosque is behind us.


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Blue Mosque

We then went to the Grand Bazaar and renewed friendships there too. It was so much fun for me to introduce Mark to those friends. I'll put more pictures up as we go.


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VURAL! and Mandy and Mark

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Leaving on a jet plane . . .

Finally! The day is almost here. Mark and I are headed to Turkey! I can't wait to introduce him to all my pals there! We will be real tourists, taking in all the sights with of course some inside information. My sweet friend Melda has plans to come hang out with us for a day too! It will be so much fun.

Things I'm looking forward to the most: meeting Bailey Johnson, hanging out at the Grand Bazaar, introducing Mark to friends and former co-workers, seeing the sights for the "first time" through Mark's eyes. It will be a great trip.

Pray for us as we travel and while we are away. Pray that we'll be ready for any special appointments God sets up for us! Pray that we'll be encouragers to friends we spend time with.

I hope to be able to post some while I'm there, pictures and all. So, check back over the next few days and you can journey with us!