Living In A Cooler, Stinks!

The houses here as you know are made of cinderblocks. During the winter there are freezing cold and humid due to all the rain we have. We have to little gas heaters that we roll around to whatever room we are in. They usually stay in the living room where we have adapted into our "we do everything in here" room. We come in and turn the heater on and do our homework in there. If we need to use the restroom we run back to the cold part of the house and then run back. Our back to bedrooms we've just shut the doors to them. We only use them if we need to hang up the laundry.

Well a couple days ago we did the laundry and hung it up in the back rooms to dry. Well, today we went in there and guess what!?! We have condensation on the ceiling! No joke. No heat, plus moisture equals rain inside the house. So we are going to have to start rotating our heaters to knock the chill off our back rooms once a week or so to keep the rain from our ceiling from washing us away.

Laundry Day Video

We had to do laundry. We had to. No more clothes. We also had guests coming to stay in two days, so we decided to do all of our laundry in one day. Then it rained, so we couldn't hang it all up on the roof. We had to improvise. I felt like I was living in a West Side Story scene. It was nuts for a couple of days, but it is all done. Watch and enjoy.


Laundry Day Video

Christmas Decorations Video

I must confess that this video was really just made on a need on my part and not out of the wanting to inform you guys or help you see a window into our lives. I just really felt like making a video and seeing, as it may be, that I am a horrible actor I need something inanimate to film.

Hence, the video on Christmas decorations. The song behind the video isn’t really a Christmas song, but several lines in this song grabbed me the other day, so I included it.

When thinking about the first Christmas night, it truly was “the night the world began again.” All of history past had been looking for this “new start” that Christ only can give, and history present and future cling to that “new start.” Truly through Christ’s birth the world began again.

The second line is, “the one, poor child that saved this world, and there is ten million more that probably could, if we all would stop and say a prayer for them.” I read this line and think of the potential of my child. (Christmas this year is a lot different from the Christmas past. I tend to think of the birth of a baby a little more often these days. Hmm I wonder why?) While Christ alone deserves the title “Savior,” think of what could become of my kid, or Jaden, or Emma Grace or any other of all the babies that have been born this year. Through the grace of God these will be the people that finish strong. The generation that will see peace reign, that see the borders of North Korea and Saudi open up to the Truth, that see gas prices soar above $10.00 a gallon. J So this songs takes my mind of the here and now and puts me praying for the world my kids and all the rest of “you that are trying to over populate the world”’s kids will live in. It gets me praying for my kid and that “Baby Bull” will run the race better, longer, and closer to our Father than I ever do. I am praying that Baby Bull plays a part in “saving the world.”

So, I am really sorry about all that. I am not even a father yet and I rambling on and on and Baby Bull doesn’t even have a SSN yet. Sorry, I can’t promise anything. It’s probably going to get worse.

So back to here and now, I needed something to make a video of e.i.: Christmas decorations; and a song to put on it e.i.: Better Days. So I just needed a creative outlet and you can suffer through it.

Cheers!


The Christmas Decorations Video

The Sky is Falling

Due to the change of weather and the fact that we think the Middle is always hot and dry. We decided to make a video. Remember this a joke video, so if the acting looks really bad, remember...er....we meant to do like that.

The Sky is Falling Video

Quirks of the Life

Winter has landed. We are living a house with no central heating. Our house, well all house here, are made of cinder blocks. There is literally no insulation. Our houses closely resemble stone ovens in the summer and coolers in the winter. We are cold! It is colder in our house than it is outside. And get this we only have luke-warm water in the bathtub. We do dishes in our cold water. Our hands are frozen. For heating we have Sawbas. They are similar to the old gas space heaters some houses have back in the States. These have wheels and a space to set a gas can on the back, so it is portable. So we thought it would be fun to tell you some of our quirks. These are best if you can picture our faces as we encounter such obstacles.

Dishes
In order to do dishes with semi hot water we have to take our big pot and set it in the tub and fill it up with hot water. This is quite difficult to lug a pot of hot water back and forth between the bathroom and the kitchen.

We also have poor water pressure in the sink. Things that are difficult to rinse like strainers and big pots that don’t fit in the sink we have to take to the shower to rinse off because the water pressure it better.

Showers
Remember I said we only had luke warm water. Imagine a freezing cold tile house and picture a shower that is pretty wide open and only luke-warm water. By the time the water gets to you it is cold. To solve this we push one of our Sawbas into our little bathroom and crank it up. This is the only way we can manage without getting pneumonia.

It could be worse. We are thankful for our house and all the great “character building” we are going through.

The Birds In The Window Video

This is video of the baby birds outside our window. I know this has really nothing to do with anything, but I just wanted to put together a video of something so here it is.


The Birds In the Window

Little Kids Playing Video

I was doing the dishes (yes, I do the dishes sometimes) and I spotted these boys playing outside about three buildings down, so I grabbed my camera and ran up to the roof. You need to take a look at this. Most of the kids you know this age are in their rooms playing Playstation and veggin in front of the TV. These kids are livin' it up. Check it out.

Kids and the Tire Video

Drive to School Video

This is what we go through every morning to get to school. I tried to keep the camera steady, but it is a bit shakey. Enjoy.

Drive To School Video

Dance The Night Away Video

I wanted you guys to see a video of some of our entertainment last night. These are two of the girls from the family that we live with.

Our Entertainment Last Night

Night Wedding Video

Hey, its been awhile since we showed you guys a video. However, this video isn't very good. It was made on a whim with little artistic thought put into it. It also is a bit shakey. Not for the faint of heart. :)

Wedding Video

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Funny Story:
B and I were sitting on the couch relaxing and enjoying a quite afternoon. I really mean it. It was quiet. You will appreciate silence more when you never experience it. Anyways, this was, for some reason, a quiet afternoon.
We hear the noise of someone coming up the stairs. It is quiet again and then we hear, "Cla-toon." This is Arabic for my name. Either that or "Clinton." I am getting to where I just introduce myself as Clinton, because it is easier. They all know how to say Clinton, because of our former president.
Well, this particular "Cla-toon" sounded alot like the 9 year old that lives next door, so we call out, "ahlan (come in/welcome/hello)" as I am making my way to the door a boy walks in. A boy I have never seen before in my life. He says, "Cla-toon, wayn Bulos (Clayton, where is Bulos{the kid next door})" I told him I didn't know and to check downstairs, so he ran off and we haven't seen him since.
So this place is very much like Cheers, because its "where everybody knows your name."

The New Addition to the Neighborhood

I apologize for the recent posts' lack of pictures. I know you guys need pics, so I thought appropriate to include one of our recent additions. We have this guy and his two donkeys and herd of goats. He was heading down the street when we saw him this morning. We have a donkey also that likes to raid our dumpster. We really want to get a picture of him, but he is crafty and doesn't allow himself to be caught in the act. We will keep searching and supply you guys with the evidence as soon as we get it.

Hashmi Shmali Video

Here it is! Thank you all for waiting so patiently. Here is our apartment. It is a rather large file, so you have two options for your downloading pleasure. For you hi-speed DSL “let’s get this quick” type of people, we have a DSL size/quality video. For you Dial-up “I will get this eventually” type of people, that don’t mind going with a smaller/lower quality we have a video for you. If you happen to be a “let’s get this quick” type of person on a “get this eventually” connection…I feel your pain and better luck next time in the Internet game of Life.

For the “Let’s Get This Quick” Types

For the “It Will Download Eventually” Types

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