Purim 2013

Purim 2013 Fun Photos!

This last week was one long week of Purim fun in every way!

School, home, and friends! Now the diet begins! 

When I was growing up, we only dressed in characters for the Purim story.

Girls could be Vashti or Esther- boys were the good Mordecai, 

King Ahasuerus,or evil Haman.

Nowdays- anything and everything goes!  

Here is a little Purim music to get into the spirit of Purim as you view the photos!

Purim Music

Naamit, the 'Tooth Fairy'

Maayan, the 'Snow Angel'

Daniel, the 'Spy Guy'

Yoav (center) playing at a Purim concert

Naamit as Vashti in Puppet Show

 

Maayan ( center)in Purim dance

Mishloach Manot

 This is a basket of goodies we send to friends. Kids made traditional Oznei Haman ( Haman's Ear) cookies or as we say in Yiddish, Hamentashen. This year they made them of poppy seed, chocolate, or dulce de leche filling.

The best part of Purim is the reminder that God is in control no matter what

 is going on around us!

Israel takes a Holiday for snow!

Coming form Chicago, I can honestly say I don't miss winters there.
I worked in a public high school, and we almost never closed, even in the most dangerous road conditions! 
But here in Israel, even just a little snow cover means- school is cancelled and everyone stays home and plays in the snow!  
We did not get snow in Maale Adummim, ( I am not counting the fifteen minutes of flakes) but the schools did take a half day, since many teachers who drive in from Jerusalem, could not make it. Naamit did get a 2 day holiday as her school is in Jerusalem! 
We had so much rain and snow last week, that  the Kinneret ( Sea of Galilee) ,which has been dangerously low as a result of many years of drought, has seen great improvement. But on the down side, there was much flooding and damage to crops.  Yet- we are thankful for rain! 
 Enjoy some photos!

Taken from my window, snow on the hills of the Arab village across the street

Taken by my friend Elisheva in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Armon HaNatziv



 The Russians are coming to Tel Aviv ( photoshop)
The flooding on the Tel Aviv highway is for real!

A Beautiful Morning Walk

Someone asked me if they could see on the blog some of the nature in our area. A few weeks ago, on a gorgeous Shabbat, Daniel (7) and I took a morning stroll around the neighborhood to enjoy the beauty. Do you know in Israel it's illegal to pick wild flowers? Remember we are surrounded by the Judean Desert!  We want to share it with you!

A view of our neighborhood in Maale Adummim

A valley between neighborhoods

Jasmine Bush, love the fragrance!

 Hibiscus

                                 

A young Date Palm tree

              


Variety of Bougainvillea                                                                           

Lantana

This amazing flower can only be found in the King's Royal Garden

Genus: Children of God ( as written on T-shirt)

Species: a young Daniel (7)

We'll be back for another round of nature photos another time.

Enjoy your week! 

Remember to take time to stop and enjoy the flowers in your life!

Total Hanukkah Fun!!!!!

On the 6th night of Hanukkah, my true love gave to me....
Total Hanukkah Fun!!!!!

Just for your Hanukkah viewing pleasure!

Pure fun and silliness the whole family can enjoy!

Hanukkah Jewish Rock of Ages

                                               The Maccabeats: Candlelight

  Sesame Street: The Original Hanukkah Story

Happy Hanukkah!!!!!

Happy Hanukkah!!!!!

 Saturday, Dec.8th- Sunday, Dec.16th

We've come to drive away the night

In our hands are fire and light

Everyone is one small light

But together we are bright

Fly away darkness, get out night

 Flee before the light!

Happy Hanukkah from our family to yours!

Let's join together to sing this song!

Interview with a Lovely Young Lady!

Naamit, age 12

I thought it would be interesting to do an interview with my oldest daughter so you can experience one Israeli's youth's perspective.

1.       How does it make you feel to grow up in Israel? Well sometimes everyday life here can be kind of boring, but if you think about it, Israel is a cool place! The history behind it is amazing, and there are places which fun to visit!

2.       How does it affect/impact/influence your faith being here? I think it's actually a good affect sometimes as they teach you bible at school yet in America for instance this wouldn't happen. But there are times when it's hard, when other people are talking inappropriately, or have bad language.

3.       What’s the best thing about being in 7^th grade? Well I think the best thing about being in seventh grade is that you get to sort of start over, set new goals and in my school, you don't have tests!

4.       What is your favorite subject and why? My favorite subject is Theater because It's a place were you can express feeling through motion and words and you laugh a lot to!

5.       What are your after school activities? After school on Mondays and Wednesdays I fence and after my Fencing on Wednesday I take Art classes. Also Piano and Youth Group on Thursdays.

6.       Favorite fun activities? Drawing, Singing and Acting!

7.       Favorite book genre? Mystery

8.       Favorite recent book: Nancy Drew

9.       Favorite movie; The Ultimate Gift, Narnia

10.   Favorite color(s):Turquoise and Purple

11.   When you think about the future; what thoughts cross your mind? Why? When I think of the future, the thing that passes my mind is Technology. Seeing the technology today is already overwhelming and exciting and its getting updated more and more. If its this big now, think of how updated it will be in the future!

12.   What would you like other youth in the world to know about what it is like living here in Israel as a youth?I think that they would like it here. Everyone is welcoming and kind and Israel is a very interesting place!

13.   If someone asked," What can I pray for you about?” What comes to mind? I think if someone wanted to pray for me, I would ask them to pray for me and my faith at school. It can be very hard and confusing sometimes and sometimes you can fall. All the swearing and the dirty talk and behavior is so horrible to listen to and I have to be in it everyday. So that would probably be my prayer request.

14.   What is the best way for people to pray for the youth believers here in Israel? What do you see the prayer needs are?  

  I think that the prayer needs here for youth is their faith in school and in the army. Young   believers  could really be taken away from their faith just by being influenced by others. They really need the prayer.

What Ever Happened to See Spot Run?

When I was in 1st and 2nd grade,
I remember reading Dick and Jane Books. Does anyone else remember these?
 Sally, Dick , Jane, and Spot the dog. Playing,laughing, running.
 "Jane see Spot run. Run, Spot, run! "
Simple, easy, and innocent. And a tad BORING!!!!









 Not for my second grader!!
Daniel came home the other week with this story in his reader:
                                                                                 

This story is about a little boy, named Yossi, who finds an unattended bag near a bench. After asking if it belongs to anyone, and with no affirmative response, he quickly goes to the phone and alerts the police. The police team and a bomb sapper ( hab-lan in Hebrew) promptly arrive to evacuate the area. As it turns out, there was an explosive device in the bag, and the "hablan" disables it. Later, the police present Yossi with a certificate of recognition for his alertness which saved many people.


Hard to believe this is a story in a elementary reader, and not a news story. But the truth is, there are often objects with explosives left in bus or train stations, public areas, and even children's parks.   I was witness to this once in a children's park.
From a young age, every Israeli must know not to approach any "suspicious object' ( hefetz hashood in Hebrew), and how to proceed. Every Israeli has experienced this, and often sits in traffics jams or has had their route "re-routed" while the bomb sappers detonate what may be a real or suspected bomb.
It's part of normal life here.
SO Daniel and I had an interesting discussion over his homework, on what he should do if ,like Yossi, he should find an box or bag with no one to claim it. 
You know you live in Israel when....