Free gifts

Free gifts on air planes are a wonderful thing.  Actually free gifts anytime are wonderful things.

Fearless duo

These two celebrated the 7th birthday of our friend.  And they hung with the 7 and 8 year olds.  Jonas was not allowed to ride one ride, and that was the only one he missed out on.  When the 8 year old girls got off the last ride crying the Bowers boys were hanging on tight.  Their face did not express joy, but there were no tears...

So much fun with a box

I have finally downloaded pictures off the i-phone, let the posting begin.

More funny talk

Until I download pictures off the i phone all you will get are funny stories.
Zaky: "leave the door open (at night when going to bed) because I can't see Anything"

me: "say goodnight to baba"
Jonas: "goodnight to baba"

Zaky and Jonas had their first verbal argument: Zaky "Jonas not in your mouth"
Yo "No"
Z "no"
Y "Yes"
Z "Yes"
Y "No"
Z "No"
All while in the bathtub which made it a bit more entertaining.

Out of a babes mouth..

More funny things my smart and very attentive boys are saying:
After telling Zaky that we were going to a park then after a nap we would go to eat he responds 'no, that's not a good plan, no'
This same day we went to Popeyes Chicken for supper, Zaky is running around yelling back and forth from the play room to the table.  He comes up to me and says 'Mama, this is McDonalds I can run and yell, this is McDonalds' (he has been told more then once 'this is not McDonalds you can not run around and yell!'

Jonas is now shaking his head and saying "No", he will mimic a lot of what Zaky says, but his favorite things these days are pointing to the sky and saying air plane, or jet when he hears them over head.  He said Popeyes after eating there, and to his brother's great amusement he now calls the computer the "poo per"..

What's the word?

Well let me share with you some of the clever little things coming out of my boys mouths.
Zaky (picture this: non-alcoholic consuming country, for the majority, we are in a super market and Zaky sees the refrigerator of non-alcoholic beer) "we need to buy some beer, no no, we need to, my daddy likes to drink beer"
There are more but I can't remember them right now.
Jonas has lately developed the dislike for holding hands and walking.  This is incredibly inconvenient seeing as we don't have a car and are walking or taking taxis every where we go.  What does littlest man do when he does not want to hold hands and walk:  hook his legs around mine like a monkey and make me pull him across the streets.  He also has learned to climb out of his pack 'n play.  But since we are not in our home I have not done the staying in his bed training, which takes several days.  What do we do?  Open the window, and turn on the fan to make his room nice and cool, then zip him in his sleep sack.  Yes it is May 20 and he is sleeping in his sleep sack with very little clothes on.  Not to much longer!

Gardening company

I will call them companions, helpers is just to far off from the truth.

If you don't know the word, work around it.

As a non native Arabic speaker I definitely appreciate Zaky's language attempts and maneuvering, through both Arabic and English. Yesterday morning:
Zaky: "Where is it?"
Me: "Where's what?"
Zaky: "Where is it?"
Me: "Where is WHAT?"
Zaky: "Where is the make you smell like a big boy?"
Me: "You want Baba's cologne?"
Zaky: "Make me smell like a big boy, like Baba"
-- I put a few dabs of cologne on his neck, he then runs out of the bathroom so proud, "Baba, I smell like you, like the big boy"
Zaky: "Put some on Jonas so he can smell like a big boy too"

Everyone asks if Zaky can speak Arabic, he definitely can get around, get around meaning: he says "thank you" and "where is it" to adults, children he can get his point accross, I am always so impressed that he has communicated some idea to his teacher, but not in front of me. But then I get a little laugh at his expense when the little girl down stairs turns to her mom and says "what did he say I don't understand", I can relate....

Zaky's new saying

After a full weekend of friends, about half a bit older then him, Zaky has picked up a few new sayings:
- poo poo head
- that's not fair!!!!! "Well Zaky what is fair" "because, because it's not fair"
- NO!!!! JONAS!!!!!!! (we hung with a lot of little girls who like telling littler boys what not to do)
- I WANT TO DO WHAT ELIJAH DOES!!!!!!!!!!!
- And I'm taller, and Jonas is little, and the step stool is for tall boys to go poo poo, but not wash there hands.. ("Is Jonas a baby or a big boy?" "Jonas is a big boy, but I'm taller")

At the end of the four days, I really love my kids, and I was a bit tired of other peoples. And I was reminded little girls can be mean. I was a very unpleasant little girl, and now I am even more fearful of having one of my own. And to all out there, we will know in another week to two weeks if I will be triple blessed with boys, or blessed with a girl. Will see, so continue praying for your favorite.

Older brother

This is why younger siblings pick on kids littler then themselves when they get the chance. Notice Zaky has no bubbles on himself at all.

March madness

Bill got to see a few games of this years college basketball finals. He either stayed up or once even woke up at 1am to catch the game live. For Baylor Men's final 8 appearance he didn't look at the internet all day so that he and a friend could watch the replay the next evening. One day a few weeks ago Zaky and he were playing basketball. Zaky said "it's your turn Baba, you shoot. And he went over to the side and watched Bill shoot. Then Bill said "ok it's your turn" Zaky said "Baba you have to stand like this", and he made Bill stand over to the side with his hands on his knees. I looked over at Bill and asked if he was ok. He said "ya, zaky is making me stand like this." We both looked at him, then figured out what he was doing. Bill then said ok it's my turn, Zaky went over to the side and assumed the same position of hands on his knees and bent over while standing to the side. We both laughed. Apparently Zaky had seen enough basketball to know how to shoot foul shots, that is he knew how he was suppose to stand while the other person was taking a foul shot!

Cheese vs. Chocolate

How to answer the question "do we buy the boys a cheese or chocolate croissant" the answer is easy. But when there are left over chocolate we give in to common sense.

More inside entertainment

We had early, middle, and late season rain this year (if I hadn't mentioned before) every time it rains everyone says "that was the last of it" then it rains again. These are more shots of our indoors "play area".

Just incase anyone forgot

Just encase anyone forgot how cute the boys were, here is a reminder.

Inside entertainment

Reason number 1 we keep our old used couches.... Reason number 2: does not show stains.

A friend and her little girl visited us the other week, and Zaky, Jonas, and their buddy James started pulling off the cushions, she looked puzzled and said "this would not even occur to her daughter to do"

New team

Our team mates of the last 5 years are moving back to America. And our other team mates are moving about a half hour away. So we have joined up with another group about 30 min away for prayer and other ministry. Our new team times are once a week in the evening with kids for a meal then put the kids down and have a study/ prayer time. The family that hosts most often have 3 girls. Two girls older then Zaky whom he follows around trying to play with, and the youngest (3 months younger than Jonas) who I can not for the life of me keep Jonas from beating up on. I swear Jonas just has to be in the same room as this little girl and he will seek her out and push her over. I arrogantly prided myself that "MY SON" (Zaky) was not a hitter, he will hit back, but not be the first to hit, not my son. Well I have been put in my place, my other son is officially a bully. The picture above is obviously the influence of a 5 year old girl.

Why Zaky likes school

Zaky reverted back to crying before school when we returned from Texas after Christmas, it took another couple of weeks for him to warm back up to it. He still says most mornings "today is Saturday no school", "there's no school today because there's no school today", "I don't want to go to school today because I don't want to". He does drag his feet in the morning being very particular about what he is going to wear. The nun gets upset with us most mornings because if he gets there after 8:15 he misses the singing practice for their recitals coming up in May and June. One morning he was there before 8 he got to carry the flag "with the Christmas tree on it". But after a couple of months he almost always says he had fun at school, his buddies are the two Ali. He has started eating their lunches, besides just on Wednesday which is spaghetti day. But I know what he enjoys most about school are the birthday parties, at this age parents are allowed to bring cake and goodie bags and the teachers do everything basically, and this gets the parents off for hosting a party at home (smart!). Almost every Thursday Zaky comes home with a hat and goodie bag. I always ask who's birthday it was if it was a boy he often knows their name, but if it was a girl "not Aya's birthday" is usually the answer. There are also two Ayas in his class!

cultural note: In this culture, in the wealthier schools, parents are sort of expected to host birthday parties inviting classmates, parents, and siblings. Usually at a restaurant or play place, big bucks!

Birthday Boy

Ya ya his birthday was in January, but anyway.. It was his first official birthday party with balloons and kids. And possibly his last at home party with kids and pop corn and all that other messy stuff. A birthday in January was nice for being pregnant, but not nice for hosting more then 3 kids, especially not nice for hosting 5 kids that then bring their cousins and older siblings. But all went well. Zaky would have been happy with just James and Sandra, and I will remember this for next year. We did do our best for playing games and eating at tables. I attempted a tractor themed party, the highlight was Bill's 4 ft by 5 ft sign with bulldozers and diggers we hung above the couch (this huge thing cost 12$, and now decorates Zaky's large wall). In the end Zaky had a blast, and all the toddlers were impressed with my cake decorating skills! And this is what mattered.

I'm back baby

Well after what seemed like an incredibly long winter, of which I was gone for a month of it, spring is officially here. The winter here was brutal! No snow here just up in the mountains, but cold inside and out, wet, no sun ever, little power, just gloom gloom gloom! But all have survived, the power is almost normal, with rumors of a bad summer to come, the sun shines at some point every day, and best of all, I don't NEED to wear my scarf in the house! So enough of me whining. But wait this is my blog, I can whine if I want to! Did I mention the internet sucks! So pictures will appear when they want to! We would huddle and live around the little gas heater. Everyone feeling sorry for me yet! Must I keep going? I can't I need to tell everyone how thankful I am, for what could I possibly be thankful for? Well:
The sun is out now, the weekend is suppose to be up in the high 60's, Jonas is healthy and asleep, Zaky is healthy and eating a carrot while watching "Sean the Sheep", my bleeding has slowed but I am still technically not allowed to clean my house (no guilt there), we have fun plans for the weekend, Easter is coming, I love a gracious God, who loves me even on my lazy ungrateful days, Zaky has only been to time-out once today (not 6 times by 9am like last week), and I could keep going...