What Do They Eat?

 Hi everyone,

 

I'm spending 2-3 hours a day on the Israel book but I have just a couple more pages to fill and I'll be done. Then proofreading and hitting that Submit button! Of course, then comes the really hard part... waiting for it to come in the mail!

Meanwhile, we're going to work, doing laundry, grocery shopping and just living life. Beth cleans the preschool at our church but when they're out for the summer, I have to find other things for her to do. This week she disinfected the seats in the sanctuary and cleaned the sinks in some of the bathrooms. She's glad to be doing something different.

Remember the Junkos? The birds who build a nest in the wreath on our porch every year? well every December I switch it with a Christmas wreath. Hanging it back up this year I noticed there is a little hook in the back, so I've been hanging it upside down all these years. Not that you can really tell. Supposedly, this is right side up -

This spring the Junkos showed up and mom and dad were hanging around the porch but I never saw the nest. Until one day I noticed it in the back, near the top!

I guess that's where their scent was from years past (or however birds remember where their nests were) and built it as close to that as possible! I've been so afraid that it was going to fall off but it never did, thank goodness. And now those little babies have flown the coop. Next year I'm going to turn that wreath back around!

I planted all kinds of purple and white pansies this year. Five pots full in the front yard and they were really looking nice.

Then the bunnies appeared. And the pansies disappeared...

 

I think next year I'll plant Geraniums. Do rabbits eat Geraniums?

Back Seat

 Hi! Do you remember me? I'm afraid this blog is taking a back seat to the book I'm making on Snapfish of our Israel trip. I like to have something to hold and I don't want to forget anything so I'm desperately trying to get this book finished but it's taking a while.

 

In the meantime, We flew to New Jersey last weekend to see Diana, Peter and Adelaide.

 

Adelaide was baptized and I'm so glad we got to be there. She was a doll in her white dress and hat. Chuck and I bought her a bracelet to wear for the ceremony, you can see it on her right wrist in this picture.

 

 She practically laughed through the entire baptism, so much so that she had everyone else laughing too!

 

 After all, how can you NOT smile with this angel?!

Jet Lag, Thorns, and a Warning!

 I'm sorry I haven't been posting - or reading - lately. I finally began feeling a little normal yesterday, had my first 'normal' night sleep Tuesday night. I was talking with a friend at work today and they heard it could take one day for every hour difference. I pulled out my phone to look at the calendar and yep, Tuesday was day 10! It's been crazy, and I didn't expect how hard it would be to get over jet lag. Have you ever struggled with it?

 

Work has been so busy since we got home. Plus trying to get caught up at home. The laundry, the yard work...

 

And, we leave early Saturday for New Jersey. We're going to see Diana, Peter and Adelaide for a few days. In fact, I didn't even put the suitcases away. I did laundry from Israel, and put a lot of the clothes right back in the suitcase! 

 

A local private high school is having their graduation in our Sanctuary tomorrow. We've spent weeks planning with the principal, various admin, Senior advisors... tomorrow morning is the rehearsal! It's finally here!

 

Sorry, this post seems to be so random, I feel like I'm just rambling. I'm creating a book on Snapfish of our Israel trip and it's been fun to re-live the memories. I'll leave you with a few of my favorite photos -

 

 Sunrise over the Sea of Galilee

 

 

The kind of tree they believe was used to make the crown of thorns. 

The thorns look a little flimsy but they're not. Trust me.

 An oil painting in Magdala, Mary Magdelene's home town

The woman with the issue of blood who touched the hem of His garment

The floor of this room is from the first century

 

 We went to the Jordan river, very close to the area where Jesus was baptized by John

In fact, the other side of the river IS Jordan

Our phones kept pinging, "Welcome to Jordan! Warning! Xfinity does NOT serve Jordan."
 

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. See you in a week or two. 

Donkeys, The Sea, and Fire

 We flew out at 2:20pm PST on May 15th and after a 4 hour layover in Frankfurt Germany, we landed in Tel Aviv at 7:30pm on May 16th (Tel Aviv time.) By the time all 94 of us arrived at the meeting place in the airport, went through security, loaded onto the busses and drove the 30 minutes to the hotel, it was 10:00pm. The amazing hotel served us a delicious dinner and we fell into bed around midnight.

 

We had to be up and on the busses at 7:30 in the morning. And that began nine days of the most incredible journey!  

 

Our first stop was Caesarea National Park, right on the Mediterranean Sea. We saw the remains of Herod's palace and the harbor he had built. We visited 46 sites in our 10 days on the ground. It was a whirlwind trip but one we will never forget.

 

 

 We also went to Mt Carmel, where Elijah confronted King Ahab, then he prayed and God rained down fire on the altar and it consumed the wood, the altar and the water around it.

 

We visited a Jewish village where we got to put on robes like they wore, pick and grind wheat, some rode donkeys, (Chuck and I didn't) and just experience what life would have been like back then.

 

Incredible experiences for our first day!