A World without walls
everyday life while homeschooling overseas
Yesterday was the Israeli Independence Day, so Devin had the day off of work. We spent the morning Skyping with our parents, then headed off to the park. The park was just getting into the swing of things--full of people, tents, grills, cotton candy, loud Arabic/Hebrew music, balloons, impromptu soccer (aka football) games... It was so fun! Everyone was celebrating just like we Americans do on the 4th of July. For some reason, it just really struck home how people are people no matter where we live, what religion we are, ethnicity...doesn't matter. We're all people, and intrinsicly, we're really all very much alike. We are all God's children, and we really are brothers and sisters. I don't know why a city party at a park made me philosophize about that, but it did. It was a lovely epiphany. Peter looking over the balcony, hoping for more planes! We enjoyed the park for a bit, then we headed off to look at the city from a high promenade view. It was so pretty! The kids and I decided we are going to go back to that spot some time and have a nice picnic there. Maybe that time I'll remember to bring the camera. It was pretty cold and windy. I was the only one who had brought a jacket, so I ended up giving my jacket to Andrew and my scarf to Claire. They were then fine and ready to play tag and hide and seek on the hill, whereas I was shivering! Ha! Oh well. We ended up heading home and having a lovely BBQ and watching a movie, because that's what you do on holidays! While we were watching and grilling, there was a cool fly-by right over our house! Some military planes were flying in formation super low over the city. It was so cool! We really enjoyed it! And just as I remembered to get my camera and take a photo, they flew off. Oh well. We still had a great time watching and listening! Hooray for some family time. Today, the kids and I headed out on another new adventure. I had made reservations to go on a tour of the Western Wall Tunnels! So, we headed out and made our way to the Old City all on our own. Good gravy...I don't know why doing new things is SOOOOOOOOOOO hard for me, but it is. When I know I"ve planned something that I've never done before, I make myself sick worrying about it. In the past, I would either chicken out at the last minute or BEG Devin to come until he finally gave in and took off work! Ha!! Well, I've had to overcome that quite a bit in the past month. While Devin was gone, I had to find lots of things for us to do to keep us occupied. I even drove to Petra all by myself with all the kids! Whew! Here, Devin doesn't have the luxury of time off. And if I don't give myself a little kick to the backside, we won't see anything! So, I'm learning to do new and scary things...and finding that they're really not so scary! And if they are, well, they're still not worth the ulcers I give myself. Anyway, it was definitely an adventure finding everything, but it was SO much easier than I had anticipated!! We made it to a shopping mall near Jaffa Gate and just parked inside the mall parking. The elevator led us up to Mamilla Ave which is just a long sort of strip mall that's lined with sculptures that are for sale. We REALLY enjoyed looking at all the sculptures! We got to Jaffa gate and went to the ticket info center to chat with the lady there about the Ramparts walk, etc., that we want to do in the future. While we were talking, the kids found a bunch of televisions displaying all the different tours. That kept them very happy while we paid for tickets and talked about tours available. :) Then off we went to find the Western Wall! As we were traveling to the city, I had a long discussion with the kids about sacred, special, reverent places. We talked about what we do (and DON'T do) at these types of places. How we walk quietly and be respectful of people--how we don't play tag or scream. They really did a great job. They didn't do any crazy running through the Western Wall area. Andrew only did his high-pitched-Roman-Candle-esque cry once, and that was because he slipped on some slippery stone ramps that we were walking down to get to the entrance. Totally understandable. On the tour, the kids were really good, too. I was a little nervous since I knew it was a guided tour, which meant we were going to be in the dreaded Large Group. It was 95% adults (there were 2 other kids that looked about Josh's age). The guide did a great job telling all the history in a very interesting story format, and since it was all mostly review for the kids, they listened very well. I was impressed with how well they did, especially Peter. He only got angry and asked to go home once. That's pretty good for him! The tour was great--very informative and interesting. The feeling of being right next to that famous wall was awesome! And I now know the reason why the Western Wall is so special! I always thought it was just because it was the actual wall of the ancient temple, but it's not. It's the outer wall of the temple complex. But the reason why it's so special is because of the temple itself. No one was allowed in the most sacred part of the temple (the holy of holies) where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, except the high priest. However, everyone knew how important and sacred that was. The temple was built East to West, and the Ark/Holy of Holies was situated at the back (the western-most side) of the temple. So those who wished to be close to that area, pray toward that special and sacred spot, would stand at the Western Wall to be closest to it! That makes complete sense to me now. And you can truly feel the reverence and peace of the spirit of that place. I could tell the kids did, too, by the way they comported themselves. A great experience. After the tour, we made our way through some more shops (I had no idea where I was...) and found a nice looking pastry shop where I got the kids some cinnamon rolls, pain chocolate, and a GIANT sesame bagel. The streets of the Old City are maze-like, but very fun. We actually really enjoyed walking around in them. It wasn't terribly crowded, either, so that made a difference. We walked out of Damascus Gate, then had to circle around the city to get back over to Jaffa Gate and the mall where we had parked. Peter threw a fit because Josh at the pain chocolate, so I had to carry him on my shoulders all the way back to the car, but I usually expect the end-of-adventure-it's-time-to-go-home-now fits, so I didn't mind so much. I knew he was tired as we all were. We came home, watched a documentary on plants, and I finished making dinner. Now, the kids are in bed, resting up for another day of fun tomorrow! :)
1 Comment
Claire and Josh made this snack all on their own!! Today was a relaxing day at home. We spent the morning planting seeds, repotting seedlings, and setting up mini-greenhouses and terrariums of flowers! Then we learned the history of apples and played some pioneer apple games by sticking seeds on our faces. We went to the park and played for awhile in the afternoon, then came home and watched a movie and ate popcorn, because tomorrow is a holiday (Israeli Independence Day). It was nice to have a day off after yesterday's excursion. I'm hoping to go at least a week without having to drag a screaming kid out of a store again. It's always nice to go on family outings together when we have a weekend. Lately, it's felt like we haven't had ANY weekends...and we literally haven't for quite a while! All those trainings and random assignments and travels to TDY locations made weekends pretty much a no-show. Well, now we're taking advantage of our weekends. So, Sunday morning, we...wait for it... Went grocery shopping at 8am. HA! It was SO nice to be done grocery shopping by 9:30am! The only issue was the fact that our kids were really awful this time at the store. They ran around and took whatever they wanted off the shelves and threw HUGE tantrums (yes, all of them, it was humiliating) when we said no. By the time we were ready to get in line to pay, I had to drag most of them out of the store to wait in the car with me. Man, that was really bad. When we got home, we dragged everything upstairs (have I mentioned that we live on the 3rd floor--which is really the 4th floor by American counting?) and the kids left us to go do something else interesting (not sure what). Devin and I looked at each other, then at all the bags on the floor, and Devin said, "Well, let's see what we bought!" Ha! Cracked me up. We finally put that away, packed a quick snack and some swimsuits on the sly, and then told the kids we were leaving. I wanted to go to Caesarea. So, off we went! It was SO amazing to drive away from Jerusalem--this country is really beautiful! There are lush forests and amazing beaches... Wow. The drive to Caesarea was really lovely, and hardly felt like it was almost 2 hours long. We made it and were considering whether to go into the National park, but decided the kids needed a beach trip first. We went to a beach that had an ancient Roman aqueduct running alongside it and had the time of our lives! We spent 4 hours there without even realizing it! We all searched for shells and played in the water and buried Andrew and dug holes and ran up and down the shore. The weather was perfect and glorious: The sun was shining, there was a cool breeze, the water wasn't warm, but it wasn't super cold, either. It was so peaceful and enchanting to stand on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. We played in the Mediterranean Sea on the shores of Northern Israel. How cool is that? It was a spectacular day and I didn't want it to end. We were all sad to leave, but it was late afternoon (4pm) and we had to drive another 2 hours to get home, plus we wanted to make a quick stop at IKEA on the way home. He he he... We got to IKEA, and we were all STARVING, so we got some food and everyone eat heartily (mostly salads and pastries, but still...). Sadly, since it was 5:30 by the time we were ready to do some quick shopping, the play area was closed. Doh. This was a BAD thing, because Peter and Andrew saw the play place and it was pretty darn cool. They began our shopping trip with a tantrum. Great. So, we started looking through for silverware (that's basically all we needed), but the kids started playing tag in the aisles (instigated by the OLDEST, who should know better) which is not a good idea when you're walking through piles of stoneware. *sigh* Luckily, they didn't break anything, but we got a LOT of death glares from the sales people. Obviously not fans of kids. We found silverware and a new spatula, along with a nice apron (you'd think with ALL the stuff I brought with me I'd bring my apron, too...) and a bunch of stuff for our plant unit (dirt, pots, etc.) then headed for the exit as fast as possible. Peter was completely out of control and his siblings were not very helpful--they like to egg him on because he's pretty funny when he's hyped up--but it's not so funny when we're in a store. They lost out on their post shopping ice cream (lots more tears and tantrums) and once again I was forced to take most of the kids out to the car while Devin paid for our stuff. Twice in one day. Sheesh. We ended up with a LONG drive home, since we hit evening commuter traffic right outside Tel Aviv, but that was ok, because we got to watch the sun set over the city! Pretty awesome! Some pretty good shots for going 75mph... he he he...
We got home late and thoroughly exhausted, but with lots of happy memories of a beautiful day at the beach...and bags and bags of sea shells. Everyone's getting sea shells from us for your birthdays and Christmas for the next 10 years. Just a little heads-up for you all. Visiting BYU Jerusalem! Thanks, Sister Judd! :) Going to church here in Jerusalem is such a special experience! The place where we attend is over on Mt Scopus, so we overlook all of the Old City--the view is spectacular! Today, there were a LOT more people than last week, and it lasted the full 3 hours (plus some) instead of 30 minutes. But it was amazing! The prelude was by this fantastic organist, and a choir sang 'Come Thou Font'. Wow. There were some great talks, and I think it's just so amazing to partake of the sacrament while looking at the city where Jesus lived, died and was resurrected! One of the students sang 'O, Divine Redeemer' and WOW, it was so gorgeous! An amazingly special experience. Then we were able to watch the Sunday Afternoon session of General Conference (for those of you who don't know what this is, every 6 months our church leaders broadcast a conference where we hear them speak. It's wonderful and uplifting.) where I was reminded about the importance of being kind and showing love to others. I love conference. After church, some members invited us to lunch. This wonderful family lives a few houses away from my in-laws in Orem, Utah! They're here at the university as teachers. Very cool. We enjoyed a lovely lunch with them, then all the kids (they have 5, plus our 4...) sat down to watch some Sabbath flicks, and we got an insider's tour of the BYU Jerusalem Center. Such an amazing and lovely place. I'd love to go to school there!! :) We had a great time with a special family, and all the kids whined a lot when we said it was time to go! :D Since we had to pass through the Old City anyway, and since it's the Sabbath, we decided to stop by another Sacred Site. So, we went to the Garden of Gethsemane. It's a very special place. There were LOADS of tourists there, and you could hear all the cars and buses zooming past on the road, but that couldn't cover up the fact that that is a special place. The feeling of peace is very strong there. The olive trees are definitely ancient--don't we wish they could truly speak and tell us their story? Sometimes, you just need a day off. You can usually feel it in the air. Today was one of those days. I have a large and vigorous list of things to do and see here...but it had to take a back seat today. The kids needed some down time to play. As soon as breakfast was over this morning, we had a story time. We read 6 or 7 books about plants and they enjoyed that. Then, they started in to play, and they played so nicely and happily! They were pretending to be veterinarians--they had their animal hospital all set up! All their stuffed animals had little beds, and Dr. Josh was checking on them with his 'stethoscope' (his ipod earbuds). They took everyone's temperatures, gave out medicine, and administered vaccines. How could I stop that? It was so adorable! Their minds were hard at work imagining and learning from each other.
So, they played at being vets most of the day. We went to the park near our house for an hour or so in the afternoon, then decided to go pick up Devin today, because we can. It was a nice, laid-back, cozy day, on the whole. Well, life never stops at our house, does it? I guess it really never stops at anyone's house, if you think about it... Anyway, today I had made reservations to go to an Archaeological Experience... In other words, we got to be Archaeologists for a day! We went to the Emek Tsurim National Park where they've kept truckloads worth of dirt from a not-quite-legal excavation of the Temple Mount, and we all get to help sift through it! There's stuff in every single bucket of rocks, so you don't go away disappointed that you didn't find anything. We found shards of pottery, small fragments of glass, a few bones (eeew!), flint and marble pieces, chunks of mosaic pieces, and a rusty old nail! Good times. The first hour of our 'experience', the guide talked about the history of the area (the kids are going to be experts--Josh even got some applause when he answered a question correct that no one else caught! The guide asked why Herod was called Herod the Great if he was so mean and cruel, and it was because he was such a great builder.) and then explained why they had created first the National Park and then the public 'sifting experience'. Fascinating. Seems those who basically control the Temple Mount decided to do their own excavation so they could use some of the underground chambers as a new mosque--but they didn't do the excavation properly--with hand tools and careful digging. They brought in bulldozers and tractors! **GASP!!** I guess they were in a hurry. They had over 40 truck loads of priceless dirt just dragged out and dumped all over! So, people got together (this is a long story made short, by the way) and said, "Hey, this could have some good stuff!" and they started trucking it over to this place and now they let people help out in the dig. So, we got to play with dirt and rocks from the Temple Mount today! We parked up at the top of this big hill that was straight up from the site. There was a great view of the whole Old City and Temple Mount from the path we were walking on. Beautiful. The kids were super excited. Andrew kept yelling, "LOOK! it's the Dome of the Rock!! That's one of the Ancient Wonders of the World!!" Then, their attention was drawn to the bees searching for nectar/pollen in the flowers. Then, they found mini snails on the stairs/rocks/plants and started to collect them. Andrew found a snail that decided it liked his hand and slimed its way all across his fingers. gross. He decided he wanted to take it home as a pet. Unfortunately, while we were walking up the path, he walked through a pile of giant red ants and it freaked him out and he dropped his new pet snail. Sad. So, we came home pet-less. Whew. We've now enjoyed our free month of Time4Learning. So, what can I say about it? There is a lot that is very good about it. I feel like it would be a great supplement to what I'm doing. The best part about it, is that I can say to the kids, "Go work on your Time4Learning lessons!", and they jump right to it! We all know how hard it is to get our kids to do math practice, or reading comprehension, or phonics practice. This program was a real treat for my kids, especially for my 4th grader. He has a difficult time focusing at the best of times, but when he's in front of a computer, he's 100% focused (which can sometimes pose problems, of course), so this worked especialy well for him. He spent over an hour one day doing reading comprehension exercises--and at the end of his time, he said to me, "I love this, mom!" That's a pretty high compliment. My 2nd grader loved the science and social studies, but often had difficulties with the math section on her own. I think that would be something I'd have to sit down with her and either help her with her grade level, or have her go down a grade so she could feel more confidence on her own. I set my kindergartner up with the 1st grade level, and it seemed to work fine for him, for the most part. Again, if I am going to continue with this program, I would probably set him back down to kindergarten so he could do all the activities by himself without being frustrated because the instructions weren't 100% clear to him.
Overall, I think I'd give Time4Learning 4 stars out of 5. I loved that it kept track of everything my kids did so I could look it over and see how they were doing. I know I didn't utilize every aspect of the program, but as I said before, at this point, it would make a great supplement for some extra computer lab-type practice for the kids. At least if they're doing this, I know there are no ads that entice them to head over to My Little Pony.com and build a 'cake'. It's all about learning with a little edutainment thrown in to spice it up a bit. Will we continue? That's still up in the air. The price still seems a bit steep for me, so this will have to be put on the discussion list to see if it's really worth it at this point. With three kids (the first child is about $20, all children after that are $15 per month--so we'd be paying $50/month), that's a pretty hefty sum. It IS nice to have it all in one place, though, so it is definitely an idea that's still on the table. Today, we had quite an experience. We went to The Time Elevator. I was looking for something that would give a nice overview of Jerusalem history for me to springboard off of, and man, was this ever IT!! The sad thing, though, was that they didn't allow children under the age of 5 to go. Poor Peter. Devin met up with us (luckily it's almost across the street from the US Consulate), and he and Peter went out to lunch while the other kids and I had a crash course (um, literally) in Jerusalem history! We got to sit in these super cool 'roller coaster' seats and they moved with the movie (think 'Star Tours' technology of Disneyland fame). Hold on tight, kids! :) Andrew and Claire weren't sure about it at first, and Andrew kept saying how he was so scared, but they quickly adjusted and were completely enthralled! Chiam Topol (Tevieh in 'Fiddler on the Roof') was the 'tour guide' and did a marvelous job. Love that guy. We fell down shafts, crashed through walls, flew through burning cities, went on a treasure hunt through a mine (SOOO fun--like a roller coaster!) and we even 'fell' into a pool--and they sprayed water on us from above! Ha! Claire thought I was spitting on her. Cracked me up! Seriously, this was such an amazing treat! It was a quick journey through history and a very insightful (and respectful) look at the history of this city through Christian, Jew, Arab and secular eyes. The kids want to go back again. Of course they do. After the Time Elevator, we went exploring at the park nearby and found some fun places to play for a while...that way Peter didn't feel so bad that he couldn't join in on the Elevator fun... Tonight, Devin and I got to go on a little date, so we headed over to some sites that we figure the kids aren't going to be able to be patient (quiet) enough to see. We saw the Western Wall. There was one point as we were descending that I wished I had brought the camera (totally forgot it...doh!!) where we looked on the Wall with the Dome of the Rock floating above it. Wow. So beautiful all lit up--and such an amazing historical spot. There was such a peace there. I loved being in a reverent place where people were praying all around us, and those who weren't praying were respectful of those who were. Beautiful. If only we could all be so kind, respectful, reverent and tolerant all the time. Much of the world's ills would be solved. A lovely experience that can't really be captured on film, but will stay in my heart.
Um, not a rose... An Orange Blossom! Yesterday, I must admit, was one of those 'trial of faith' days. Sunday night I got hit with something and I was up most of the night super sick. Monday morning, I wasn't much better. However, the show must go on, right? I've discovered when I take a 'day off', it's much more stressful than just biting the bullet and going out. So, out we went! We had the Wohl Rose Gardens on our next list of things to do. I drove to a nearby park where I knew there was free parking, but it was chock full. Doh. So, I decided that since the garden was free, I'd just park in meter parking. Well, I only had 50 cents. I put the 50 cents in as I was curious as to how much time that would buy me...but 4 minutes wouldn't even get us across the street. :/ So, I pushed the red 'exit' button, and it took my money! Dumb meter. We drove up to the park entrance and everything was meter/pay parking. I was getting so frustrated as I had no way to pay! Finally, I drove up to a restricted section hoping some nice guy with a big machine gun would come and help me out. He did. I rolled down my window and asked if there were somewhere where I could easily get some change for meter parking as I had none. He told me to go to the stop light, turn left, and immediately on the right is a big FREE parking garage! Hooray! Then he told me to have a nice day. Well, I hope he has LOTS of nice days for giving me that little golden nugget of info! We found the parking garage easily. The problem was that the entire thing was in Hebrew, so if you had no Hebrew language skills (like yours truly) you'd just pass it by. I drove bravely in, asked the people for a little help figuring out the ticket thingy, and in we drove like we owned the place! We found a nice parking spot after driving around a bit (I admit, I was a LITTLE worried we'd be paying afterall, since the ticket was totally undecipherable to me) and we unloaded ourselves and prepared for a nice park day. Unfortunately, it took us 30 minutes just to figure out how to get OUT of the building!!! HA!! All signs being in Hebrew and the universal picture, it was a little confusing. According to the signs, there were two ways to exit. We took the wrong one. We were led up some back stairs and to a door that was locked. Dang. Luckily, no alarms sounded, and we weren't locked into the stairwell. We got out and found another place with stairs and elevators that looked more promising. We went to the wrong level (um, down instead of up) and found ourselves at a dead-end in the bowels of the parking garage...so we turned back around and retraced our steps back to that promising elevator place and went up this time. We found the way out after some twists and turns. Whew. Then we were very turned around and had idea where we were, so we just started walking. Luckily, it was the right direction. We found our way to the park! Hooray! We celebrated by sitting on some benches and eating the lunch we had packed. The Rose Garden itself was very pretty. There was a 'Garden of Nations' that was very cool. Many countries had donated roses from their own lands to put in this garden, so there were different sections (ie England, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, etc.) and each section looked a little like that country's garden may appear (with little walkways, trellises, fountains, etc.). Very pretty. The kids loved smelling the roses. Yes, we stopped to smell the roses that day. Happily, we made it home later without incident, and I have a free parking garage to add to my arsenal. Woot! Today, I'm feeling much better, thank you. I got up and did a quick exercise routine outside before Devin left for work at 7. It's nice to have the sun up so early. The kids created a haunted house for me while I was in the shower, so I got to enjoy their creativity again (I don't think I mentioned the magic show they made for me yesterday as I was groaning in pain and trying to motivate myself to get up and be productive). :) They're so much fun! After I was thoroughly frightened by them (Zombie-Andrew has a grip), we did some morning school routine (math/history readings) and then we were off to the Bloomfield science museum! Obviously, this is no Smithsonian nor Heureka (Finland's super awesome science museum), but it was a fun diversion. We saw some cool electricity exhibits, optical illusions, water exhibits, etc: But the favorites were a big 'ball toy' (for lack of a better name): They had iron rebar soldered together into this big wire-y contraption and you rolled balls all over it along pathways. The pictures explain better than my words... They spent a good two hours on that thing--it really never got old! Then, the looked out the window and what did they see? (Not popcorn) A giant sandbox with cool sand toys! Luckily, it was a windy somewhat cold day, so all the myriads of kids who were there (on school field trips--just like us!) didn't particularly want to hang out in the sandbox. So, these guys spent another few hours driving dump trucks around and paving 'roads'. They had a ball! They made their 'roads' all over and were very proud of their accomplishment! When I walked outside to see them, I was hit with the most astounding and lovely smell. It was sort of like a strong lilac. I asked the kids if they knew the source of the smell and the all pointed at the orange trees planted all over the sandbox area! Wow. I've seen perfumes/soaps, etc., touting the orange blossom scent, but I don't know that I've ever smelled a real orange blossom. Oh, it was lovely. I'd wear that, for sure...
After 5 hours of being at the museum, I had to literally drag them all out, kicking and screaming. You'd think they'd be tired by then, but no, they were wishing for more! sheesh. So, we came home, I popped some fish in the oven, and we ran over to a nearby park so they could run some MORE. I told them they could only have 15 minutes, because Devin would soon be home. They were not deterred. They WERE however, angry when I told them that time was up! Ha!!! But, they had a special treat: on our way home, Devin's shuttle drove by and dropped him off. Peter was SO excited to see daddy get off the van! And the other kids had seen him and hid behind a wall so they could pop out and yell 'SURPRISE!!" and attack him. They're very good at that. It's been a lovely day. It's nice to not feel sick any more. I'm not sure what it was. But, I'm ready for some more adventures tomorrow! Woohoo! So...Saturday is the Sabbath here. Just another confusing twist of the weekend for us! It was so difficult to change to Friday when we got to Jordan. I'm just starting to adjust to it, and now we're switching days again. However, it's still sort of the same as Jordan, since we have Saturday as the Sabbath, and then Sunday as the 'weekend' day. So, it's not too bad. Just a little off in my mind. We went to church at the BYU Jerusalem center. We got there a little late, and when we walked in we were greeted by 2 things: The first was the fact that there were very few people there (I somehow expected a group of students or something...); the second was the view! WOW!! Behind the stand where the speakers, etc. stand, there are huge windows that overlook the Old City of Jerusalem. It is a magnificent view. I was in awe. Well, we got into some seats and sang along to the opening hymn, had sacrament, then someone got up to announce. They said, "And now, our speaker will be (so and so--I don't remember who)". My first thought was, "Oh no, this lady is going to speak for a full hour!" She got up, spoke for 15 minutes, and then they closed the meeting!!!! That was it!! Apparently, all the students were off on a field trip to Galilee, so they only had a SUPER shortened meeting. The kids were hilarious: Andrew kept yelling how it was the BEST CHURCH DAY EVER! (ha ha) Peter cried because he really wanted to go to his class. Claire and Josh were totally taken aback, but just said that now it was time to go home and watch a movie! ha! We all wandered about the grounds of the center for a bit, then we decided that since it was the Sabbath, we should go to a holy site. So, we went and found the Garden Tomb. It was very lovely. The people who run it are super nice. They gave the kids little 'mystery' maps where they had to find the important spots, name them and then color them. They all took to it and searched dilligently for the different spots of interest. It was just so amazing to see THE tomb. To see the Skull Hill of Golgatha. I can't even describe in words how blessed I feel to be in this part of the world right now! History here--in all it's religious and secular aspects--is so tangible!! The rest of the Sabbath day was spent at home. The kids wrote in their journals about the day and things they've done and learned this week. They're writings and pictures are so insightful. I just love these kids. Claire wrote about how it's so funny to have church on Saturday now, and she has deduced that maybe there's a different church day in every country! :D Andrew drew a great rendering of the Garden Tomb and the Old City Wall. Josh wrote about how fascinating everything is and how cool it is that he gets to see it! At family scripture time, we read about Jesus being crucified and laid in the tomb, and it just brought so much more meaning! Today being our 'weekend' day, we started it out as most weekend days. The kids got up and watched cartoons while Dev and I took turns exercising. This is a glorious place to run! the sun is up early, the day today was warm, there is a little park with a jogging trail near our house--I ran for awhile, then put myself through my taekwondo paces. It felt SOOOOO good!!! After that, we took the kids and went grocery shopping at a local supermarket. I find that it's easier to take the kids grocery shopping now. Maybe it's because I'm with them ALL the time, so I'm used to their presence, or maybe they're just growing up... but it's better. They're much more helpful. Since the local supermarket is pretty small, it's also hard to lose them...and since everything's in Hebrew, and there's not much that's imported, there's less temptation for the kids to throw junk into the cart! :D We had a great time and hopefully we have everything we need now for the next week or so... When we got home, poor Devin was dying for a haircut, so he left to find a barber while the kids and I chilled at home (I'm in the middle of a really good book that I'm having a hard time putting down). Andrew wasn't feeling very well, either. He told me he had a really bad tummy-ache. He was in the bathroom for a VERY long time, and after he got out, he said, "Mom, I think I may have had a diorama!" It was almost impossible for me to keep a straight face on that one, and tears streamed down my face as I tried to keep myself as serious as possible. Poor kid. He had a diorama. I wonder if maybe I should have corrected him and said 'diarrhea' is the word he wanted, but it was just so cute!! When he got home, though, it was time for an adventure!! Claire shows the depth of the water... We decided that our first family adventure at Jerusalem would be the City of David and the Hezekiah's Tunnel!! So, that's where we went! We found the place without too much problem--the GPS usually gets us fairly close. I didn't know that The City of David was a National Park!! Soo cool! We looked at some of the signs, and it said that in some places of the tunnels, the water level is up to 70cm--that's thigh high on me. We weren't sure about that one. We brought our water shoes, but not our swimsuits! We talked to the lady at the ticket counter and she said it would probably be fine, but that we'd probably want to carry Peter for some of the way. I think we were a little hesitant at first, but finally, we figured since we took the time to get there, and it was a hot sunny day, we should just do it! So, we bought the tickets and walked to the entrance of the tunnel! We popped on our water shoes and got ready for some fun! At first, the tunnel was a well-lit cave of sorts. The kids were pretty happy about that. Then, at one point, there was a guy selling flashlights. There was a sign that said that watershoes and flashlight were required in the tunnel. So, we bought everyone a flashlight--a super cool little keyring that has City of David and a harp on it--and got ready for more adventure! Just a little ways more, and we entered the real tunnel: complete with almost waist deep water gushing down! Oh my. Devin carried Peter, Josh plunged in, and I was left with a terrified Andrew and Claire. I grabbed their hands and sort of dragged them--kicking and screaming--into the water! After about 15 feet, we went up some stairs of sorts and the water stayed at a pretty steady 5-6 inches for the rest of the way. Now, the kids LOVED it!! They smiled and giggle and shone their little flashlights all around. We saw mini stalagmites and cool cave formations that happen with limestone (found out later that we were right in guessing it was limestone...we're so awesome...) and trudged through the narrow tunnels where sometimes we all had to duck and sort of crabwalk through! We had an absolute ball!!! On a scale of 1-5 stars, it gets 6!! Pretty much the best outing ever! We ended at the Pool of Siloam (the pool where Jesus told the blind man to go wash and he got his sight back--the very one!) and the kids played in the water and had an absolute ball. We couldn't get Peter and Andrew to get out! We talked to a guy in a shop just above the pool for awhile. Josh got a little Widow's Mite coin and a special box made from Olive Wood to keep it in. Claire bought a beautiful shawl. Andrew bought a lovely bracelet to give to Claire--SO SWEET!!!! He touches my heart every day. Such a sweet and thoughtful boy. The little shop owner told me that he considered my sons as men and he loved them--that they were gentle, intelligent, well-educated boys. I agree. He knew just the right thing to say to a mom! :) But, hey, I agree, so what can I say? :) We left the shop and walked out, past a pool that was part of Solomon's Gardens, and rode a shuttle back up to the entrance. We were going to see a 3-D movie about the City of David, but it was closed for the day--and that was when I realized that it was almost 5pm! Ha! Whew! What a day! So, we drove ourselves home and the kids ate ice cream while Devin and I made hamburgers for dinner. Of course, the kids all had to do a quick shower--not sure how clean the water was in the tunnels..... :) It was such an awesome experience!! And tonight, for scripture time, we read the account of when Jesus put the clay on the blind man's eyes and told him to wash in the Pool of Siloam, which he did and regained his sight. The kids were wide-eyed as we read this, since they had BEEN there! Hooray! Soo amazing! Then we read a little about Hezekiah's Tunnel--how he was king during the time of Isaiah and used the tunnels to keep the water away from his enemies (the Assyrians--whom we just finished studying about). The kids were spellbound as we read about the man who built the tunnels we had walked through and enjoyed today. Hands-on learning is so powerful. And now, that book I can't put down is calling my name. |
Who Am I?
As a Stay At Home Mom of 4 wonderful children, I have the amazing opportunity not only to home school them, but to do so in many different places! I am married to the most amazingly wonderful (and handsome) man in the whole world! Together, we seek out, every day, that Joy in the Journey that makes life exciting! Archives
November 2020
Categories
All
My Favorites
Emily's books
by Dan Brown
I like that the plot twists and turns a lot...and it makes you think. However, I don't appreciate Dan Brown's endings in his books. I find the endings incongruent with the rest of his stories--why make it a romance for the last chapter...
by Shannon Hale
I loved this book. I'm a sucker for fairy tales/fantasy. This was so well written! I can't wait to read all the rest of her books!
by Shannon Hale
I'm reading this one again. I liked it the first time I read it. I'm still liking it for the second time around. I like all of Shannon Hales' books.
**Still lots of fun the second time around! I do like this book for a comfortable...
|