Outside my Window...
Grey skies

I am Thinking...
The house is too quite!

I am thankful for...
The house being sold and wonderful news from dearest of friends!

From the kitchen...
Currant Cake for a tired teacher

I am Wearing...
The blue grey skirt we got in Jerusalem

I am Creating...
Patience

I am Going...
to clean the house up at some point...ha!

I am Reading...
Psalm 24

I am Hoping...
For Yhwh's blessing on a new mother

I am Hearing...
The furnace kicking on

Around the House...
Chaos!

One of my favorite things...
Cuddles with Olive Plants!

The Verse that Kept me up Last Night:

"As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth." Psalm 127:4

Some of the aspects that were turning around in my head:

You have to make the arrows straight

The Bow has to be staight

The Aim has to be in the right direction

The Target has to be the right one

I see a huge study coming out of this one. Anyone want to join me?

ps: the house is going.....we're leaving it in Yhwh's hands and praying a lot!

Missing In Action

Our computer keeps producing "the blue screen of death"

and we're packing up the house in anticipation of marketing!

So for the next 2 months we'll be gone

Hugs and God Bless
Hope you wait around for us

Stuff

Man alive we have so much stuff!

I didn't realize how much stuff and junk we had stuffed into the basement...wow! We have filled the Mazda 5 with garbage bags of clothing and toys for charity 3 times, yup THREE times!

"Love not the world, neither the THINGS THAT ARE IN WORLD. If any man love the world, the love of the father is not in him." 1 John 2:15

Okay so after reading that verse (and many like it) it is very easy to clear out this house to get it prepped for sale and that will make moving a ton easier!

Our biggest moving things around project right now is all the books, and for those who have been here that is a huge job! Instead of boxing them up for a year, we're going to set up a library in the basement....Oy

So what stuff are you getting rid of this year?

Random Thoughts

The girls are tucked under quilts in their beds, a cuppa sits next to the keyboard and sister's class is nearly done so here I sit enjoying a few spare minutes in the day before jump starting yet another project.

The girls and I joined in today as it was "Beach Day" at school and really enjoyed all the bright and cheerful faces as we served up a fun lunch. After reading a simply amazing and powerful article in the Lampstand last night on Mary Magdalene and her spirit of serving others it seemed fitting.

Question though. I find it easy to serve in aspects I love, cooking, baking, writing note cards, knitting, opening our home to others...and less so with other things. You?

Is it service when you are doing something you love?

Something I need to ponder and come up with an answer for.

So this new project....

We're selling the house. So if anyone is interested in a custom designed and built home...let us know!

We never thought we'd be moving from here unless we had too.

BUT we need to be closer to CHC. Right now we spend 2 hours a day in the car. OY!

The Lot is purchased and now we have to get the house set up and prepped with 3 kids in the house!


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I think I need an espresso instead of this tea.

Off I go to start loading boxes!

Winter Photos:

I Love that sequence!

Monkey got mittens and socks

Helper got a knitting bag, mini mixing bowl and candle stick holder

Can you Figure it out? They all had clues from the Bible this year, even on the lifesaver roll and oranges!

"Slightly" excited!

The joint gift, a board game to learn the offerings and Feasts! (picked up at The Temple Institute in Jerusalem!)

ps: Dad & C there are more photos on facebook!

Weekly Menu

Today was grocery day again after dropping Magoo off at school. It feels good to get back into the routine of groceries on Thursday. This was we have plenty of nice and good things to eat for the weekend while Hubby is home and at the same time don't need to run out first thing on Monday morning. After trying grocery shopping on both Monday(s) and Friday(s) this works well for our family.

Thursday: Chicken fajitas (homemade salsa, plain yogurt - tastes the same as sour cream, shredded lettuce, 1 cubed Roma tomato, stir fried leftover chicken and green & red peppers, onions, taco seasoning.

Friday: Challah bread and beef & veggie stew

Saturday: Crock pot Chili (recipe was a few weeks ago)

Sunday Lunch: Leftover roast beef warmed in gravy in the crock pot with potatoes, broccoli with cheese sauce and pull-apart rolls

Sunday Dinner: Ham and Cheese Melts

Monday: Beef & veggie stir fry with basmati rice

Tuesday: Mince (Scottish fav of Hubby's family) with potatoes

Wednesday: Homemade pizzas (ground beef, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, cheese)

The Importance of Important Tasks

While I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions, it is nice to take a chance at the beginning of a new year (and yes it is the Western New Year and not the Biblical Israeli one but that is another discussion for another day!) to sit down and take stock of what we spend or waste our time doing and seeing to and whether these are really important in the grand scheme of life.

I have come to the realization that I keep getting stuck in the Martha Rut. Seeing about and being stressed with the house and not sitting quietly down to good and solid Bible Study.

So after the company left this started to change. Instead of running around cleaning during Monkey's nap time an hour of that is set aside for Bible Study and this week and next that will be preparation for a sister's class on Psalm 16 and Dt 1.

Another thing that has to change is the sheer amount of stuff in our house. I aim to pack up seasonal stuff and put it into storage and to pack up items for donation so that the house is clear of clutter as we are planning to put the house up for sale in the Spring.

Another Important Task which I have found lacking is good time with the children. So the focus is moved off of the house and unto them.

Our weekly schedule needs to be re-done and this is what we are working on right now:


Monday: 2 Loads of Laundry (sorted and put away), Bathrooms, Bread Making
Tuesday: Bedrooms, Wash Linens and Change Bedding, Morning 1-2 hours on library duty
Wednesday: Home School Bee, Bible Study and Home Ec with her. Mend Clothing
Thursday: Scrub Floors and Vacuum, Sister's Class in afternoon
Friday: Bathrooms, Kitchen, Local Library visit

This leaves the weekend free for family fun time and practicing hospitality

Our new daily list:

Breakfast
Get dressed (put on bread to raise)
1st section of the daily Bible readings
Nap time/Bible study
Lunch Time
Chores
Pick up Magoo from school
Homework/Reading together time
Make dinner
Sweep Kitchen and Dining room
Dinner
2nd portion of daily Bible readings
Children to Bed
3rd portion of daily Bible readings
Bed

The Many Reasons we are MIA right now

Amazing time at Ontario Winter Bible School
Magoo's first week back at CHC
Extended stay by a very wonderful family that is dear to our hearts (since OWBS)
Multitudes of amazing classes by Bro Brian Luke
2 loaves of bread baked and eaten every second day
Stew pot on each morning to make leftovers into lunch
Cookies trays made up and devoured
11 loads of laundry and counting
2 memory verses
Clearing out the house to sell
Evenings full of uplifting conversation and gut aching laughter!

The company leaves on Monday (sobbing) so we will be returning then

Thought I'd end with a verse that has hit me over the past 2 weeks:

"Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house save this pot of oil" 2 Kings 4:2

Today is a new day

Last night was spent surrounded by family, yummy food and the best coffee I have ever tasted! The children and i went sledding. Monkey pet a dog for the first time and said "thank you". Helper sat beside Grandma at dinner and glowed under the attention and care while they shared tea at dessert. Magoo glowed under his big cousins' watchful and helpful instruction with his helicopter and now Magoo & Helper are playing nicely and loved their stuffed socks (hammer and nails for Magoo, a mini version of Mummy's mixing bowl and a candle stick holder for Helper).

We were going to go to the Gathering today, but after being over burdened with all to get ready for OWBS we are staying home and packing.

Thanks be to God for the gift of peace in our hearts and the energy to keep pushing forward!

Hubby is off to pick up the keyboard for the Bible School and everything is falling into place.

Skates sharpened
Bible bags packed
Children's clothing packed
Winter Gear packed
Sleds brought up from the Basement
Crafts nearly ready

and a pot of Cranberry Pomegranate Tea is waiting for me(Hubby is so thoughtful with his gifts!)

Until Next Friday we are signing off then. God be with you all in the study of His word.

"Now the God of Peace be with you All, Amen"
Romans 15:33

You know you are doing too much when you wake up at 5:30am in bed in the middle of an anxity attack.

Yup that was me this morning!

So today instead of getting that list done I am taking it easy, hemming Helper a dress we let down for the winter, making secret yummys for Hubby and wrapping presents with the Goons.

Thankfully a very special young lady is here to help me today!

I have to learn to leave everything in God's hands. Especially the Ontario Winter Bible School. Everyone thought it was a great idea, said they were coming but then never registered. However we are trying to make the most of it.

If I think about it for even a minute I get very depressed!

And on top of that they are calling for 3C ABOVE on sat....and we have outdoor winter activites planned as they have 100 cm.....we'll see

All in God's hands, I know

My heart understand,

My brain is trying to, really hard!

So instead of lovely pictures and everything I'm signing off to cuddle with the kids and try very hard not to cry over all of the negative - gross - ness going on in our area.

and blogger crashed while uploading photos again! ARGH! I will try again tomorrow!

ps: Saturday was special because a very dear to our hearts couple joined us for dinner and brought dessert!

Oh dear, is it really Sunday night already!

Yes, I know the whole "posting a few pics a day" just simply didn't happen last week, appologies! This week I will try my best. We have been insanely busy, but a joyful insane busy! Thursday was Magoo's last day before Winter Break at CHC. So that afternoon extra plans for fun and friends started with The Cousins over for hot chocolait (with candy canes stirred in to make it mint!) and plates full of coloured mini marshmellows, cookies, gingerbread boys, muffins and the table was completely with the sounds of rioteous laughter reached its peak! I felt uplifted afterwards because of such nice and missed chats with a very dear sister in law and Auntie Loving Kindness (the latter of which babysat in the evening so that we go out for a joint B-day dinner!)

Friday brought on the cookies exchange. 8 adults and 23 kids and LOTS of SUGAR. It was fun I think we did too much having to fit in the piano lesson and cleaning as well. Next time we'll drop the cleaning!

The weekend has been full of the usuals, the blessed routine of congregating to worship our Father and for fellowship afterwards. I felt terrible at the momment that I realized I'd left the strawberry jam that a certain dear sister was going to take for me to her Mother out West....oh dear my brain was not awake this morning.

Today the children impressed us, they sat for Memorial and then in the car for a 4 hour round trip to pick up a used - new to us stove (KichenAid!) and then straight to sit through Bible Class (and a very good one on Esther!)

After all that you are wondering "and where are the photos!"

They will follow!

Weekly Menu

Monday: Chili

2lb ground beef
2 med. onion chopped
1 med pepper (whatever colour you want) chopped
1 celery stalk chopped
1/4 dressing (Greek or Italian)

1 28 fl oz can of chickpeas drained
2 sm Ziploc baggies of frozen purred tomatoes (or 2 19 fl oz cans of diced tomatoes)
1 tsp chili powder

cook the first group until cooked through then add the second group, mix well, bring to a boil and then reduce to med-low heat and simmer for 20 minutes (or whatever time you have!)

Served tonight with homemade white bread and Balkan style yogurt and shredded cheese.

Tuesday: Roast chicken, potatoes, carrots & brussel sprouts with cheese melted on them


Wednesday: Broccoli and cauliflower quiche, garden salad, pull-apart rolls


Thursday: Make your Own pizzas with Auntie Loving-Kindness while we go out for a joint B-day dinner!


Friday: Shepperd's pie (make on Thursday afternoon as we have a cookie exchange and Little disciple on Friday)


Saturday: Roast, potatoes, brussel Sprouts, cauliflower, gravy


Sunday: Crock pot Fajitas (cut up leftover beef from night before, add 2 tsp taco seasoning, 1/2 C water, 1 onion sliced, 1 pepper sliced and 1C mushrooms sliced, heat on high for 1 hour then turn down to "keep warm" until we return from meeting) Salad for Mummy ;-(

Why oh why does blogger load the photos in the reverse order that you select them? Oh well, so this is our day in Haifa but backwards!




This is Tel Dor where we went swimming at the end of the day. The actual Tel (or the archaeological ancient site for those who don't know what a "Tel" is) is on the top of the hill and under the water under the point of the hill. We really wanted to go up and hunt around the ruins but time was the enemy as was our exhaustion by the time we got here.



This is at the "Illegal Immigration Museum" The kids are standing in front of an actual ship that they used for Aliyah B as it was called. A was the British approved Aliyah and the B is for the secondary groups that made it to the shores of Israel during the Mandate period after WW2 when the Jews basically had no where to go but home! Usually you can go into the ship and it is all set up as it was back then but it was closed for renovations ;-(

Here are the 2 Goons inside an Israeli Navy Sub....they had audio playing to mimic a battle.

I thought this comic published at the time of the so called "white paper" during the Mandate period was a perfect representation of what was going on.

This is a Israeli Naval Patrol boat that Daddy took the kids into while Mummy watched Monkey play with rocks.

They had a great movie and display about the camps at Cyprus. After surviving the horror of WW2 the British put all the Jews that they caught coming into the land "illegally" and put them into camps on the island of Cyprus, a very said and disturbing time in history.

The Girls and I and my humongous hips!

This is the Sub that we went into...very cool!

This is the view of the full ship that they had that was under renos. It was a really neat museum as there was so much actual things to see and touch. Even terrorist boats and such that they have captured. They even had the wheel of the Arab ship they caught full of missiles and such smuggling to the so called palestinians...but why them calling themselves that is wrong and not historical is another blog post in itself! I will simply refer to them as Arabs.

Well that's it for today!

Hello Again

Or should I say Shalom! Yes, we have been absent online for just over two weeks, but a needed break was essential to get everything running again on the homefont in our little place of sojourn this side of the Kingdom. The flight home went really well, considering. Helper fell asleep right away and slept for a solid 9-10 hours, Magoo fell asleep after they served dinner (at 12:30 am!) and slept on and off for about the same. Monkey slept (flinging herself about in Mummy's arms) for about 8 hours waking here and there...so they basically switched right away back to "Canada Time" as we have taken to calling it. Thankfully they were all happy and well behaved on the plane. We were so very thankful to have a happy and cheerful, simply wonderfuls Sister in Christ pick us up with a smile on her face.... at 5:30 in the monring! This made the arrival back a lot happier then it would have been, having left our home in Israel to come back to the land of ice and snow (well none yet, but I digress). We stopped of a MUCH NEEDED Starbucks on the way and then she dropped us home and headed straight for her day teaching at CHC....yeah she;s one of those Proverbs 31 kinda Lady that puts the rest of us, okay > ME to shame!

We walked in and were surrounded by the love of family. 2 bouquets of flowers on the kitchen island, groceries in the fridge. Dessert and dinner already made! It was such a nice welcome back from them.

So everyone settled in and Magoo kept commenting that "there is no sun in Canada Mummy" which was no all that helpful! Needless to say the children never napped that day so Daddy and Mummy were up for basically 48 hours straight!

The only catch of the whole day was finding black mold growing in the fridge and the smell had travelled up to the freezer so we had a throw out everything in the freezer and clean with bleach and then soap and vinegar.

It was wonderful to fall into bed that night, finally after a long 48 hours, well I think we got to bed at 47.5 but whose counting.

Now we have gotten back into the routine of CHC, Sunday school (the play was last week and went very well), everyday chores, piano lessons and preparing for the first ever Ontario Winter Bible School. Which we are very excited about! Today I finalized the plan for the children's class we are doing and it is focused on our vision and hope of the Kingdom. Such a thrilling topic. Thankfully even though we don't have snow they have a meter up North! So if anyone is reading this and going (cause no one leaves comments and mentions latter they read I have no idea who may glance at this) bring your stakes and sleds!

So the next two weeks will be on the verge of insanity but good spiritual busy insanity! We finally moved all the pictures and video from D's work laptop to the home computer so we aim to post 5 pictures each day for the next couple weeks of our trip to Israel to share with you all.

May God bless you in the study of His word of Truth!

Monkey crashed before we even drove out of the airport! Helper fell asleep soon after but Magoo was too excited to sleep!

I love this shot of Magoo helping Daddy by pushing a pram full of bags.

He is turning into a little man! The airport is really neat you go down this ramp as you arrive and departures are on the other side of the glass walking up.

Our first day in Jerusalem, the children simply loved playing around

the Roman pillars in the Cardo area.

The Kotel (our first of three visits, the second was for the

Rosh Chodesh march and the third was while sheltering from the rain on the last day)

Lunch on the first ful day there. Hummus on Challah bread rolls with letuce, mini cucumbers and the such like. I think Monkey is in bed in this picture!

Shalom

It is with a heavy heart we sit down and type tonight. Today was our last full day in God's land. We got up and out after the usual yogurt and fruit breakfast. We drove and found a house that another family in the Truth are thinking of renting and then found our way back to Mamilla to park.

We walked up Yafo (Jaffa) street to the main post office to post a book to Avi and get stamps for the plethora of postcards we need to send before we leave. We picked up the postcards a week ago with the plan being that we'd mail them early so that the recipents would get them while we are still gone...yep that never happened, but plan B is to get them into the cute little (very British looking) mailbox in the Old Quarter tomorrow.

Then we walked back through the mall and through to the Yafo gate. We walked through slowly taking our time as we had all day. Such a nice relaxing feeling. As walking down the narrow lil street (which is stressful as it is one narrow lane for traffic and NO sidewalk and we have a double side by side stroller!) anyways we noticed a bunch of Jews coming out of this archway and had noticed before and finally asked someone and lo and behold it is a way into the Quarter without having to go through the bulk of the "dangerous for a double stoller and children" way.

We did get a bit turned around but since we knew we were in a safe area (and very clean!) we felt fine and it was a good and fun adventure for all of us. Saw some beautiful window boxes and clay pots all over their balconies (this is the mainly residential area of the Jewish Quarter) they make great use of any growing area. There was one spactaqular Bougenvillea (pink) growing down from a 3rd floor blalcony. We found our way through and wished we'd known about this short cut earlier as it saved us a lot of stress.

We headed to the Hurva square and bumped into Avi right after mailing his book ~ Oy! It was a really nice surprise to see him again before we left. We settled into our cafe and ordered a salad for me for lunch as my gluten free tummy is fed up of all the bread I've had, even with limiting myself to bread at lunch only, and the odd pastry. Such a beautiful greek salad, it was beautiful and tasted to yummy! they grated the feta it was much tastier that way. D got a cappuchino but since I'd had the shakes earlier I decided to forgo the usual caffeine shot.

We then popped over to the Ariel Institute of the First Temple but it was full of a class trip. The kids played on a playground right beside the Broad Wall...another only in Israel moment! Poor Princess got a bit hurt so we went to find Daddy who had been shopping. We then wandered down to the Temple Institute and went in to see the actual models, well they aren't models but they've actually tried to make the instruments of the Temple, the musical instruments and the Menorah and the Table of Shewbread, and the priestly garments and so many other smaller items. They have done this to prepare for Moshicah (Messiah) to come and set up the Thrid Temple. You've got to admit that is very cool and amazing mindset!

We left with 4 bags!

Yeah I know...

Puzzles and a game for the kids (to teach the different offerings and Feasts according to the Law of Moses) and a print for the wall and a couple mini things.

Gift shopping for the Goons is offically done!

Then we walked back and popped back into Esther Wiess' shop to get headcoverings for the other 6 sisters we needed to....so hard to do as they are completely different colours as last time (of course) and hard to decide for someone else!

Then we walked back via the shortcut and down to the mall for a loo stop (very clean there!) and 2 cappuchinos for the parents. The plan being to drink them while the GOons played at the YMCA playground, well that didn't happen as we had to wander around for a bank machine to get INS to pay for parking. So by the time we got home to the apartment they were drunk!

We unloaded the car and sat and rested for about 30 min and then headed out to the playground (we like the YMCA one as it has a gate so Monkey cannot escape). After about an hour we headed home to make dinner. Lamb kebab sausages, potatoe & cheese pastries for everyone else, peas and rice for me. While that was cooking we did the readings with the Goons.

Monkey is in bed now and we got Magoo and Princess to do their postcards and D is atempting to attack the stuff we have to pack. The problem is that we thought we could take 70 lbs so had to use our extra bag on the way here......oh dear me!~ We got a box and some tape from the Temple Institute but it's still going to be tricky.

The 2 Goons are still up because we need to switch them back.

Li La Rev and Shalom for a final time from Yerushaliyim.

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem!

Li La Rev

Yesterday was a really nice ending to our ventures outside of Yerushalyim. We were able to be up and off by 9:30 with our packed lunch, some chips (and here they actually fill the bag, fancy that!) some chocolate wafer cookies and lots of water bottles. We headed out on hyw 1 and hit traffic. A police motorcycle had been in an accident so we were down to one lane. Those who have been here know how slow going it is when the heavy trucks are in front of you!

So instead of 1 & 1/2 hrs it took about 2 and a bit. We stopped at a rest stop for a cafe and crossants and Micah left his New Zealand hat there he was absolutely devestated and even though we tried to get there on our way back, you couldn't as it was on the other side of the divided hyw 6 (the toll road). So we are very glad we picked him up one at The City of David.

So off we went and got up to Migiddo. Ate lunch in the car in the parking lot and went in. They had a short video which helped explain the different time periods found at the site. Then we headed up and out to the Tel.

Wow, it was huge! and amazing whole city is up there, complete with 2 palaces (Ahab's and Solomon's) and the horse stables (Solomon's) and a yard for the horses and chariots and an Assyrian city and the views were astounding, the entire Jezreel valley was in view and Mt Tabor, and the IDF base there (complete with them doing flights over the valley!). Then we went down Ahab's water system. See they had a problem as there was no water source on the hill so they dug a tunnel down and through the hill to the water source and then buried it on the other side with rocks and gravel so that in a seige they would have water and the enemies would not. We went all the way down and the turned around and climbed ALL THE WAY UP as it ends at the hyw 66 and we would have had to walk along it for 600 m. with kids this was not really an option.

In total we spent about 3 hours there, buying a good book on life in New Testament times there and wishing we had space for stuff for Apps Mill!

Then we drove home and had pasta with peppers and onion for dinner and did the readings. Then we walked up to Ben Yehudah street to get pastries for today and donuts as this is the month of Hanukkah they celebrate buy boiling and frying lots of food in olive oil. The kids loved theirs and so did D but mine was more like a thick bagel. Not so impressed.

We picked up a surprise for Magoo and so far have managed to hid it!

Then we walked home and tucked everyone into bed. Monkey keeps waking up just before 7!

Well we are off today to spend the day where God has choosen to place His name.

We hope you are having a wonderful day as well!

Just tried to upload pics again....

Blogger keeps crashing when I try to load pics....

Promise to upload lots when we get home!

Shalom

Shabbat is over, and you can tell as the car traffic is picking up outside our living room window. We had a nice slow morning, eggs on toast for breakfast and then packed up the car and off to Tel Aviv we went as it was the closest beach. We drove down and parked in the same parking lot as three years ago, and low and behold our fav cafe is still there in the mni mall on the beach. A latte for D and an iced coffee for me and we were ready to wade through the sand (it is so super fine!) to get our picnic blanket down and get set in. The beach was nice and clean and there really wasn't that many people there considering.

All of us really enjoyed our time there. D and I taking turns taking the older Goons into the water to splash in the waves and the other would stay on the beach and play in the sand with Monkey. She was having an absulote blast using my iced coffee cup to make sand castles.

Princess asked to be buried, so we did and she kept giggling and it was very funny.

We headed back to give the sandy Goons baths and then took them to this really nice park across the road from our living room window.

Came home and made dinner. Pastries, potatoes & corn YUM!

We had been planning to walk up to Ben Yehuda street for cafe Afulk and pastries but we are too tired. I finally fell asleep around 1:30 am (a lot on my mind) and the sun has exhausted all of us.

We are about to do the readings (read Jonah 1 on our was to Tel Aviv = Yafo) and are doing Nehemiah with the Goons right now.

The older two are currently working on their scrapbooks and Monkey keeps rubbing Magoo's head and saying "Hi, Hi" and when they say "Hi" back she starts jabbering away in her own little made up language.

We are off early in the morning (God willing) for Megiddo.

God Bless & Li La Tov