project 52: week 31

ISO 400, f/2.5, 1/160, 50mm

a look at a javanese wedding… our neighbor got married last week.  the street is closed for the celebration and a huge tent goes up on the street in front of the house.  it's come and go here… you come in, shake hands with a lot of people, chat a bit, eat a plate of food, take a photo with the couple… then you're free to go.  because it was like 178 degrees outside we didn't stay long.  but, i do love seeing the attire, the customs and the culture that is very evident in stream of events.  

mary, photos of our five year old.

we are so thankful you are ours.  we love you, mary.  

project 52: week 30

ISO 400, f3.5, 1/1250, 17-50mm (50mm)

so after taking a 13 week break from my "project 52" i'm going to try to finish up the year.  we'll see.  :)    

i finally got around to taking mary's 5 year old photos a few nights ago (3.5 months late).  here is my little girl holding wild flowers.  i love it because it's a perfect picture of her right now.  she picks flowers growing out of broken concrete and proudly gives them to people.  she's our "stop and smell the roses" girl and delights in the beauty she finds around her.  i love that about her.  

a king and his queen

mary and luke pretend together all day long.  they wake up and immediately choose their characters… usually it's little house on the prairie but sometimes they branch out.  a few days ago they were into king and queen.  they had their caps/veils, "crowns" and thrones.  when late afternoon rolled around they brought their thrones outside.  they were on the side of the road, in full play mode as if no one could see them.  they have no idea what a spectacle they are here.

have i mentioned that we have no yard, so this is their play space?  they don't know any different so they're fine with it.  i love our street.  i love our neighbors, the way the afternoon sun shines and the green lining the street.  

mary put luke in charge of tending to their little princess… he took his task very seriously.  also, his crown is a minnie mouse headband and his royal attire is striped undies.  amazing.

and now his manly side… he was getting the bad guys with his mean face and bright pink sword.

i love hearing the little worlds and games my kids create.  so thankful they're such good buddies.

Idul Fitri 1435

a look at the idul fitri prayer time at our neighborhood's mosque...

idul fitri is the most important holiday on the muslim calendar, celebrating the end of the month of fasting.  for a little more insight (and a few more photos) you can take a look at last year's holiday here. 

the bbq battle

a few weeks ago i tried to take some photos of mary for her 5 year photos (3 months late)… didn't really get anything i like because she determined to pose her body awkwardly and give me cheesy smiles.  after a few minutes and seeing her determination to dominate the shoot with cheese, i told her she could be in charge of this shoot and i'd be in charge of the next.  :)  we'll see.  

then luke wanted me to take a few pictures of him when we got home.  we went to little porch because it was almost dark and he posed for me too.  what's with the awkward head tilts, children!?!

luke has been eating his one heaping scoop of shredded bbq chicken for almost 2 hours tonight.  (two hours is not usual, but it's very usual that he is at the dinner table by himself 30 minutes after everyone is done eating).  with one bite left he has to go pooh.  of course.  he comes up to me and says, i have a surprise for you!!  he shows me his undies that have no pooh in them… it's a miracle that he is very proud of! (poohing in the potty before soiling his undies happens about 1 out of 15 times.  awesome.)  he wants me to go tell daddy, who has just been released from the "bbq battle of 2014"… daddy's only question is "is the chicken done?!"  i go back to luke, who is on the potty, and with a proud sparkle in his eye he says, "did you tell daddy?  what was he like!?!"  i couldn't break it to him that daddy thinks that it should be normal for him NOT to pooh his undies and it should also not take 2 hours to eat 12 bites of chicken.  i told him daddy said he was awesome.  he threw his head back, laughing in delight at his achievements.  

but clearly, he's very manly on most occasions.  

on another note, today mary watched bob ross (the painter from the 80's) for over an hour.  she loved him!  she cracks me up.  as soon as she finished him making this amazing mountain landscape she says, can i paint now?!?  i was slightly concerned that she would be disappointed at her finished product after seeing bob's… but luckily she was pleased with her painting of me, her, daddy, a sun and a cloud.  can i just reiterate, she watched an hour of bob ross!  ha!!

she and luke also played Little House of the Prairie for approximately 4 hours today.  that is currently a regular occasion.  it's magical that they play so well together right now.  it's new and a blessing from God.  the only annoying thing is that for some reason my bedroom is always the river, the flood or the wagon.  i'll take it for hours of entertainment and watching a sweet friendship bud. 

we love the village!

a few weeks ago we had the honor of going to our friends' village for a special occasion.  their younger brother was going through a "rite of passage" and we were able to be there to celebrate with them.  the ceremony was at a pesantran, which is a boarding school where kids receive a muslim education.  my friends stopped going to traditional school in 3rd grade but spent a few years of their teenage life there.  we were able to see where they lived at the school and meet some of their teachers.  we were also involved in an extensive, spontaneous photoshoot with the current students.  :)  my kids weren't impressed!  luckily we had invited two American friends to come along for the experience so they were able to be the models while i protected my over-stimulated kids.  :)  

here is mary and luke hiding out in one of the rooms… trying to escape the attention.  i mean, i understand… look at those cuties in their indonesian attire!  mary knew that everyone would be wearing a veil there and that, out of respect for my friends and their community, i would be wearing one also.  she wanted to wear one so badly… and i think she looks pretty darn cute.  

"mama alif" putting mary's head covering on...

mary and our buddies, alif and adik fahri

that afternoon we just hung around the village.  we met a ton of people hanging around and they were all relatives of some sort!  the relatives just kept coming!  here's an adorable little baby that lives next door to my friends' grandma.

many of my friends' relatives farm ducks (i mean, how do you even say that?!?)… i've never seen herds of ducks before and it was amazing!  they move in waves… our little friend (who is 18 months) walked through the pack of ducks and they ducks beautifully shift their position in a way that is so fluid.  it was incredible!  we watched them for a long time!

on our walk… so green and fresh!

and here are my friends eating together.  they had the food on a piece of wax paper and then just all dug in. 

the aunt who was eating a chicken foot.  if i'm honest, i could hardly handle watching her eat it!  she was talking to me just chopping on the foot… toe ligaments flapping as she flung her hands in expression.  it was so sick!  i've told my friends' my true feelings about chicken feet… they were dying laughing at how grossed out i was at something so normal to them.  

then luke and alif got to feed some goats just before it got dark…. and another crowd of relatives gathered.  

this was now about a month ago but i didn't want it to go "undocumented".  we're planning on going back next week for idul fitri, it's the big holiday at the end of the fasting month.  looking forward to our time there again!  so thankful for the friendships, green space and fresh air!