Phillip and Rebecca Mefford

Age : One Month Quotes : Çirkin and Şirin . Ugly and Charming. These are two of the comments of admiration that Lincoln Umut often gets from our Turkish neighbors. Though it breaks a mother’s heart to hear her son called ugly, we suspect that they are just teasing and possibly even protecting our son. In some cultures unflattering nicknames are thought to keep evil spirits’ attention from being drawn to children. But then again, we can’t help ourselves by also calling him a sweet, charming little guy. Good thing we believe God’s angels are protecting him. Height : 53 cm (almost 20 inches) Weight : 4.575 kilos (about 10 pounds) Eating : Exclusively mom’s milk, eating about every 2.5 to 3 hours (sometimes sooner), both day and night. Sleeping : Sporadic during the day, but in 2-3 hour chunks during the night with the occasional middle of the night awake period. Skills : Spitting up; Arm flailing; Holding his head up for a few seconds, Very charming glances; Telling us when he’s hungry (s

Umut Hope, Expectation Umut (pronounced Oomoot), a common Turkish boy’s name, means hope or expectation. Those words exactly described how we felt as we waited for our first son to be born. Now it is hard to believe that a month has gone by since his birth. Starting out at 7 pounds, 6 ounces and 19.7 inches long, Lincoln Umut Clarence Mefford is growing before our eyes. We’ll let you know how much after his one month check-up at the doctor’s. Meanwhile, enjoy a few photos from his birth and first few weeks of life outside the womb at Biraz Daha . Lincoln Umut's first moment of life outside the womb.

“Marbles” Two children found a bag containing twelve marbles. They argued over how to divide the toys and finally went to see Nasrettin Hoca. When asked to settle their disagreement, Nasrettin Hoca asked whether the children wanted him to divide the marbles as a human would or as Allah would. The children replied, "We want it to be fair. Divide the marbles as Allah would." So, Nasrettin Hoca counted out the marbles and gave three to one child and nine to the other. Adapted from http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Sufism/Nasrudin

As you might imagine, we’re a little preoccupied right now, so over the next few weeks we’ll post a few Nasrettin Hoca anecdotes for your enjoyment. Don’t worry, baby updates and cultural insights are on the way! Meanwhile, here’s a short Nasrettin Hoca story. “Two Sides of a River” Nasrettin Hoca sat on a river bank when someone shouted to him from the opposite side: - "Hey! how do I get to the other side?" - "You are on the other side!" Nasreddin shouted back. Adapted from http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Sufism/Nasrudin