Sunday

(It's actually Monday morning here, but we didn't have electricity last night.) :)

Sundays are NOT my favorite day. I think church was invented by people with no kids. :) We alternate between going to our local church which we walk to and the international church (in English!) held on the MK school campus. Yesterday was our week at our local church.... so I stuffed plastic cowboy toys, crayons, coloring books, snacks, "treats" (candy!), and water bottles in my purse.

No children's program at the local church. Services get long. :)

And I packed my fan.

No AC at the local church. It's hot. Very, very hot.

So hot in fact, that when Brant stood up to take Ezra to the back, I looked down on the wooden bench where he had been sitting and it was wet... had been sweating a TON. (But poor guy has to wear the culturally appropriate long sleeve polyester shirts!)

The little boys have learned the routine by now and they do pretty good. They color until after the morning prayer, when they can get their toys. Then they get snack at the end of the sermon (yes, church goes for another 45 minutes after the sermon is over!)

The hardest part is the prayer time. Culturally it's appropriate to pray very, very, very long prayers. We're talking "Bless the preschoolers. Keep them healthy so they can go to preschool and study well so they can do good in elementary school so they can do good in high school so they can get a good job and be rich when they grow up" type of prayers. Sorry if that seems sarcastic or ugly; I'm not trying to be negative. But it's not an exaggeration and it gets hard when you're trying to keep 3 little boys quiet and concentrate on a long, elaborate prayer in another language while fanning yourself and your kiddos! :)

We enjoy going to the international church as it's in English and it's so good to worship in our own language. (That's why we're here right - to teach other people to worship in their own language!) Plus it's AC'd and there's children's church... which only works for Elijah and Caleb as Ezra is terrified of the nursery.... so it's not exactly a walk in the park there either

Sunday lunch is ALWAYS "Sunday noodles" By the time we get home from church we are usually exhausted and on the cranky side... so I always fix the same quick meal - I boil egg noodles (like what you get in Top Ramen, but just the noodles, not the seasonings) They only take 3 minutes! Then I toss them in olive oil, add cut up chicken (which I usually have already cooked and leftover from a meal during the week) and dice a bunch of green onions and celery leaves (celery here is an herb - it's a small thin leaf thing - tastes exactly like celery but not the big thick stalks). Then we cover it with ground pepper and "sprinkle cheese" which is Kraft Parmesan, which we have sent over (thank you, Grandma!)

But wait, it gets better. Sunday afternoons we have our "team fellowship" ...which again was planned by people whose kids don't have to take naps! It usually starts at 4, so the kids get a short nap in and then we head over to it. It really is a fun time, but it just makes Sundays that much more exhausting. Plus we're always supposed to bring a snack to share... which meant I was always spending Sunday afternoons baking brownies until one Sunday I was sick and Brant made a quick batch of popcorn... and I've made popcorn ever since. It's actually a great snack to bring because everyone else makes brownies or something rich and sweet - so it gives people something to munch on that's not sweet and gives parents (like us!) something semi-healthy to give their kids after their tiny slice of brownie is gone. I tried bring carrots and dip one time... no one touched it. But the popcorn's always gone! :)

THEN we take Elijah to soccer... all the ex-pat little kids in town have soccer lessons/games/league on Sunday nights. It's the only night of the week it's offered, and he LOVES it and so it's kinda hard to not take him. He plays in the 5-7 year old group and one of the dads "coach" and they have little jerseys and basically learn some skills and play against each other (there's usually 10-12 kids playing). The little boys can't wait til they're old enough to play. Last night the whole time Brant and Elijah were gone Ezra kept saying "I go soc Mom? I go soc Mom?"

By the time Elijah and Brant get home and everyone eats and gets showers, it's usually almost 8 before we get the boys in bed. (Normal bedtime is 7!) So much for the day of rest!!!