Phillip and Rebecca Mefford

Age : Two Months Quotes : Üşümesin! With a widespread fear of the cold we often hear this warning from friends, neighbors, and strangers alike, “Make sure he doesn’t get cold!” It would seem here, getting cold is the evil of all evils, causing anything ranging from gas to premature death. So our little bundle of joy often finds himself quite bundled up indeed. Height : 55 cm (almost 22 inches) Weight : 5.14 kilos (about 11.3 pounds) Eating : Maintaining the 2.5 to 3 hours (more or less). He doesn’t fall asleep quite as quickly when eating now, so every meal isn’t the marathon it used to be. Sleeping : Lincoln has transitioned to sleeping in his own room now, and can (on occasion) sleep for a stretch of four hours at a time at night! All that to say, we’re all sleeping a little better. Skills : Making Eye Contact (often with a little giggle or growl); Tracking dangling toys with his eyes (he loves his crib mobile); and his personal favorite: Sticking out his tongue. See a few pictures

Ağaç yaş iken eğilir Bend the tree when it is young Just a couple weeks ago we were happy to host a Super Bowl party for a few American friends. Yes, watching American football live in Turkey! We are lucky, even if it meant that the game started at 1 AM. Ironically, it happened to be one of Lincoln Umut’s best night of sleeping. However, we (well, Phillip) made sure he was up for at least a little of the game. There’s this Turkish proverb, ağaç yaş iken eğilir , which says, “Bend the tree when it is young.” The fledgling plant in the corner of our living room demonstrates such plant wisdom. Its desire for the light pulls it toward the window, but in doing so the plant becomes bent, misshapen. As plant owners we have placed a stick in the pot, tied a little purple string from stick to plant in hopes of nurturing an upright plant. As it grows, it still gets the light, but isn’t falling, bent and broken. We are guiding the plant while it is still young and pliable. Obviously, this prover

If we could take you to one place in İstanbul… Phillip's Choice: The Hagia Sophia If I could take you one place in Istanbul, it would without a doubt be the Hagia Sophia. The Hagia Sopia (Greek for “Holy Wisdom”) was built AD 532-537 to be the main imperial church of the Roman Empire. In the 320’s AD Christianity had been made the official religion of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great and Istanbul (Constantinople) was declared to be the new capital city of the empire. Emperor Justinian, who had the church built, wanted it to be the most incredible building the world had ever seen. The floor of the church is the size of 2.5 football fields and the ceilings of the church were covered with gold mosaics. It has a colossal central dome that is said to have “changed the history of architecture.” It has no supports directly under the dome, but is instead supported by a network of semi-domes and arches that spread out toward the walls of the church, giving the illusion that t

One of the benefits of getting to know our neighbors has been the steady give and take of dishes from their apartment to ours and back, giving us the opportunity to taste test good old Turkish home cookin’. These dishes are often so good we’ve enlisted Auntie Ayşe upstairs to teach us how to make some of them. Now from our home to yours, enjoy an occasional recipe from… Auntie Ayşe’s Cookbook Kahvaltı Turkish Breakfast Description : Although this is not much of a “recipe,” a full sampling of Turkish cuisine would start with the day’s most important meal: breakfast. Ingredients : Baguette style bread, sliced Boiled Eggs Cucumber, sliced Goat Cheese Homemade Jam Hot Black Tea Olives Salami (definitely not pork) Seasonal Fruit Tomatoes Directions : Spread ingredients on the table and enjoy with lively conversation.