the sisterhood and my bestie

so ramadan has begun...the country completely changes and it is sort of an....experience.

This is a 30 day fast where no muslim is allowed to eat/drink/smoke from sunrise to sunset. The whole country rises before dawn to drink and eat a bit, and then they break fast together with their families, friends and relatives at night when the sun sets. The nights are bustling, people everywhere, in a very festive mood.

The days are quiet, people are holed up in their homes sleeping and trying to survive this heat wave without any water or refreshment until the sun goes down.

It makes for a very interesting month for us. all restaurants, coffee shops , cafes are closed during the day until sunset. no eating or drinking in public. most of our friends are sleeping during the days, cooking in the early evenings, and breaking fast with various family members until around 9 pm. so we can't really "mix with the people" until after 9. ahhh!

So it makes for a lot of team time, sharing meals together, playing games, praying and so forth. makes for more long dinners with Father of the Bear, Mother of the Bear, and the Bear. =)

something that totally surprised me this week was....the sisterhood told me not to plan anything on wednesday night...first night of ramadan. I showed up at bayt kelly (houes of kelly) and they girls greeted me with "i'm a survivor" playing, mel dancing with me, fun snacks, and candles burning to really set the stage that this was a special event. ( i think they wanted tiki torshes but hard to come by in amman. )

(this picture does not capture the feel of the event. it's the only one i got, shame on me!)

the girls had written me letters, each shared how much they loved me, and we played a game with a survivor theme on knowing each other that was hilarious. it was kelly's idea to inject more in our culture...a culture of honor. it was a fabulous idea and i felt so so loved. so we are going to have a night like this for all the ladies on the team...our little family.

(older picture but realizing that us, gals, dont have a whole lot together...ahhh!)

but it was in this air conditioned refuge, living room-turned-into-baby-wonderland, candle lit room that my heart just felt so invigorated. the joy of doing this with these women. looking around at the faces of the new moms, of val as she is pregnant, and kind, loving, sacrificial sarah who is really really giving herself here in jordan that i just felt so lucky. that God really does provide for all our needs.

It was fun to reflect in my heart that 4 of us have been together for over 19 months, and the other 2...for over a year. and even with our diverse palate of personalities...God is kindly drawing us together and giving us friendship...shared experiences, becoming moms together, learning the culture together, missing our families and close friends in america and having to draw love and strength from each other. so lucky we are.

we also had our first real-deal party that we were all invited together to. Reem, our favorite neighbor had an all-women celebration because she passed her HUGE final exams. i loved the party. all you do is dance, dance, dance.

( claire and i got all dolled up. but the music was sooo loud that little arab layla was not her shining self. she did not cry the whole time, but she was pretty...glum. Here i am with Rebeccca and Le-anne some dear friends of ours here!)

and this week i have been falling pretty hard for the sweetness and love of the bear. she has turned a page where she is so interactive. lifting up her head to you when you call her name raising her eyebrows and flashing you a smile.

( can't resist those eyelashes!!!)

staying up late at night to her giggles and silliness. letting arabs swoon over her in the late night hours. being awakened by her slobbery kisses. because i have pulled her into bed to snuggle and she falls asleep with me, and lets the whole fam sleep in a bit.

hearing her explore her vocal skills as she troops across the house after me. how extremely happy she is. all the time.

(true to the anne-in-me i love ruffled sleeves on her!)

she is a thrill seeker. she likes fast, falls, swoops, tackles. she likes to be surprised and jostled. we have a brave baby. she is making our lives sooooo magical....

my little bestie. life of my heart. drew and i are in heaven.