The Mouse Family Blog

We had another interesting day today. We stayed at a five-star hotel last night -- which is probably four-star by U.S. standards -- and got a very good night's sleep. We hit the road today, in an effort to migrate from our current location, in the central part of the country, to the coasts along the south and west.




Our first stop today was an ancient caravan site. During the height of the silk road, caravans would make their way along a route that was protected by walled outposts every 25 miles. These locations would provide protection and an opportunity to trade with the local people. The walled compound included a open area for summer use and an enclosed area for winter use. Both spaces were massive -- each had enough run to hold about 75 cars. The compound also included store rooms and baths. This stop provided some great photo opportunities.




Afterward, we moved on to a key biblical location called Lystra. This is where the apostle Paul first got his start in (present day) Turkey, after traveling over from Cyprus. Lystra is a city built on a "tell" -- a plateau-like hill that builds up over time as versions of the city get destroyed by natural disasters or battles, and the new city is built upon the ruins. Present-day, it's about 150 feet tall. After Paul developed a following here in Lystra, a group of zealous Jews came to the city and spoke-out against Paul and the excitement he was stirring-up. Paul was eventually stoned and left for dead outside the city. When he awoke, he crawled back into the city. Shortly thereafter, Paul and Barnabus moved-on to the city of Derbe. It's really awesome to think you could be stepping on the exact same place as a guy like that.

Nothing remains of the city today, except for the large outcropping where the city last stood. There are plans to excavate the area, which should prove very productive. Just walking around the site showed hundreds of pottery and carved marble fragments.

Labels: Turkey

Today was very interesting. We had the opportunity for further exploration of the cave homes in Cappadocia and a number of the churches they constructed there.


A number of the churches have been defaced over the years, which is to be expected since the area was unsecured for many years and (now that I think about it) many Muslims would be offended by the idea of displaying a likeness of God -- especially within a church -- where they might fear it would lead to idol worship. However, there are still some locations that remain very much intact, which was interesting to see. It was interesting to see how the artistry improved over time in the various churches.



In a time when most people were illiterate, the murals within the church would have been an integral part of relating the biblical stories. Many of the churches have a series of many murals, each depicting a different portion of Jesus' life. Can you determine what story this mural is relating?

Labels: Turkey

We're in the third day of our trip.

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We started our day by flying from Istanbul to Cappadocia. It was a nice flight -- about an hour long and about 25% full. The clouds and dampness followed us from Istanbul, but there was no rain. After landing, we met our guide for the rest of the week, who picked us up to take us to the sites.

We saw some amazing sites today. The first was a visit to the hills of Cappadocia. The people here discovered that beneath the first feet of hard rock, the underlying rock was easily excavated. The local people literally carved-out homes and lives for themselves in the sides of the hills. The people continued to live here until massive earth quakes in 1957, which rendered the caves unsafe for dwelling. We visited a part of the settlement called Zelve, where the "Fish Church" still "stands." As early as the ninth century, people were living and worshiping here. It's incredible to be able to stand in that same place and touch the same walls as those people did over a millennia ago.




After Zelve, we visited a local pottery shop that utilizes clay and rocks from the region. It turns out that the owner has traveled to Chicago twice for the Turkish festival, and has another trip planned soon. They let Liz have a go at the pottery wheel, which was a lot of fun! We were also treated to tea before being given the "unique opportunity" to purchase some of their work at "special prices." The prices were to be especially generous since we were from Chicago, home of Barrak Obama. They actually had some very nice artisan work that was done on-site, but we opted for a more modest sized bobble we can hang on our Christmas tree.

Afterward, we visited the local market -- just for the heck of it, because it happened to be going-on -- then headed to our hotel for the night.

Labels: Turkey

Labels: Turkey

While mommy and daddy were jet-setting, Lauren enjoyed Thanksgiving with Grandma and Papa Gieseke back at our place in Chicago.Lauren feasted on ham, greenbeans, strawberries and apple crisp.As an added bonus, Chicago was also treated to some very mild weather.

Here's a photo in her Thanksgiving dress that Liz made.

There was no report of what Indy the Greyhound had for Thanksgiving, but he probably had a feast of what fell from Lauren's tray, as usual.....followed by a nap on his bed, as usual.

Here are some random shots of Lauren and Grandpa, watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

I have to tell you, it's disconcerting to see just how transfixed Lauren can get on the television. I returned from dropping off Liz and Ann at an event downtown to find Lauren in a trance-like state, utterly unphased by my arrival home. It's like she'd grown-up to a full-blown teenager in the 10 minutes I was gone. This girl definitely loves her television. I even caught her doing the classic "thirsty...but-can't-look-down...must-find-my-cup-by-touch move" that so many arm-chair quarterbacks have perfected.

Since we were watching to show live, it was also Lauren's first experience with commercials. She is not a fan. Even the crazy toy-laden commercials weren't enough for her. It wasn't long before each commercial elicited a plea for "Charlie Brown? More Charlie Brown? More, more, more?"

In other news, Lauren *loves* playing with Grandma and Grandpa! She enjoys having two more people to play her favorite game, "Run Around the House!" She's been getting extra doses of grandparent love this week, as Liz has been besieged with a series of orders from MommySaidSew that need to go out before we leave for Turkey.

Lauren got to go on a stroller ride during the first snowfall of the season. She got to experience snow last year, but she's much more aware of the whole situation this year. We're not crazy about the impending cold that's to come, but it should be fun to let Lauren play in the snow.

As luck would have it, the city park across the street -- the one that was supposed to be finished eight months ago, for the start of Spring -- seems to be close to re-opening, so at least we'll have a nice place to play in the snow!

No Pictures, please....


Maybe just a couple, since it's for the fans....



"Okay Daddy," this little game of yours is "all done."

Today while her parents were secretly relocating all her earthly possessions to a new house (aka moving), Lindsay got to play over here at Lauren's house. Part of the time, Lauren was at Leslie's house...but that's another story. All I'm going to say is that having mom friends that are willing to swap and drop off their kids makes life so much easier. Especially for those of us (Liz) who don't have the social skills to pursue babysitters ;)

If there is anyone Christmas shopping for Lindsay out there, she loves the Fisher Price Piano shown here. I'm not sure if she is more of an Alicia Keys or an Elton John but she sure has showmanship when she plays.

We had Lauren's visit to the pediatrician yesterday and she is doing great. She certainly did not appreciate the parts of the exam where she had to be laid down on the table...and she was not a fan of the shots. We tried to bribe her with tongue depressors "chopstick" and cotton balls "fluffy."

Her stats are updated on the Lauren At 18 Months posting. Click here to see it and all her monthly updates since day one!

Our friends Al and Deanna welcomed Adelina Faith into their family Sunday morning at 6:37AM. She weighed it at 7lb. 15oz. She joined her older siblings Tyler, Macrae, Ambria and Abigail. Isn't she a little sweetie! This photograph was taken by Bella Baby Photography who was available in the hospital to do a photo shoot right in Deanna's room - how convenient is that!

Here is Lauren with her heifer at 18 months. We go for our checkup on the 12th, so you'll have to stay tuned for height and weight stats. She has remained a great eater, so we expect to be in the upper percentiles as usual!

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Stats Update (11/12/08):
Height - 34" (95%)
Weight - 27 1/4lbs (75-90%)
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Lauren is so much fun these days...have we said that before?! She talks up a storm, even in mostly complete sentences from time to time. She loves giving orders such as "Mommy go away" when she wants you to get out of the chair that she would like to sit in. She tells you what she wants to eat "More pancake please" and then bangs on her tray with an open hand and says "here" to indicate exactly where the pancake should be delivered.

She remains a pretty good sleeper, taking about 10-11 hrs at night an one 2 hour afternoon nap. She has progressed from walking to running and now is into climbing up...onto the couch and kitchen chairs. She is interested lately in the tall bar stools at the island, oh dear. She went through a brief phase of minor separation anxiety and some general fear of men (she hated our last checkup with a male doctor) but is over all of that now. She has developed some memory for her playmates from my moms group and our friends kids...she remembers their names and asks for them when they are not around, or asks to go see them. She also has been allowed to watch some tv shows and asks for her favorite, Kipper the dog, as well as Thomas the Train and Mickey Mouse (obviously). Her favorite toy right now is a tickle me Cookie Monster. We adults find his very deep voice slightly creepy.

She spends most of her time trying to get away from mommy who insists that she try on new handmade clothes and then pose for pictures. As you can see in the picture here, she has plenty of hair that is usually a bit messy, but sometimes gets wrangled into ponytails and then adorned with barrettes which she is playing with in the photo. All in all, she is such a joy and gets plenty of hugs and kisses (even some from Indy).

Labels: Monthly Photos

We had a few people over to our place in Chicago for Halloween. Here's a brief review of Lauren's costume and the party. We also had a number of trick-or-treaters this year -- about 25 or so.

Lauren enjoyed her costume. I still get cracked-up every time I see her run in it.

Liz made quite a spread -- pork chops, cider, and plenty of treats.

Video Length: 2 min 30 seconds
Viewing Tip: If you click the X-like icon in the lower right, you can watch full-screen.


On a geek note, I'm starting to get the hang of this video stuff. I still need to work on improving the color, soundtrack and the artistic aspects, but at least I can get a simple video pulled-together in under 30 minutes. Of course, I could spend days trying to get all the music and transitions down the way I want, but there won't be any time for that in the near future. Maybe in 30 years I can re-issue the "New, Digitally Remastered, Director's Cut of 'Lauren Mouse - the growing years'."

Labels: Movies