It has been so exciting to receive your comments and to know that there are friends and family "out there" watching our blog! Being technologically challenged, I find this all quite mysterious but enjoying it nonetheless! This is my first attempt at posting something on our blog so hopefully it will work out and be legible! Over time we will get you up to speed with our past year here in Israel as well as letting you know how we're going.
At times it seems unbelievable that we have been here for over a year now. This land has slowly infiltrated our thoughts and minds. We find ourselves drawn to its charms, treasures - hidden and overt, history, people. And yet at the same time, repelled by the aggressive, overly-assertive, short-sighted way of life here. It is truly a fascinating place and we are blessed to be here.
We would be happy to hear of your news and life and hope that this blog can be such a forum.
Well, here goes my attempt at posting some photos... Maria.
We celebrated Gabi's 6th
birthday with a party at home and her friends from school.
It was so cute and the kids had a lot of fun with Troy leading backyard games.
Troy and I had a great time designing and decorating her birthday cakes, including this ballerina-themed one!
Gabi's birthday happened to fall on 'Yom Kippur' (Day of Atonement) this year, the day when all traffic ceases operating in Israel for 24 hours. This is our second year experiencing this, but it is still an amazing experience. Gabi trained hard in the couple of weeks leading up to the day so she would be a competent rider. The birthday girl passed with flying colours!
Can't believe Gabi is six already and in Grade 1! She is thriving at school and seems to have found a comfortable, secure and confident place for herself this year. Her good little friend in class is Yarden, named after the Jordan river! Yarden's parents are missionaries here in Israel and we are all thrilled to have believing families in our school!
During our holiday at the Red Sea last month we went on a quad biking adventure into part of the Sinai Desert. Who do you think this could be??!! We had to wear the scarves and sunnies to prevent injuries from the flying sand as we rode along. Although we were so hot, we were very thankful for the gear! The scenery was great and it was wonderful to watch the sun set from the desert. Ben and Gabi loved the adventure and adrenalin rush, Troy managed to keep up with the rest of the group, while I managed to always be the last one! Slowly but surely, right?! We rode for about 40 minutes then had yummy mint tea at a Bedouin village then rode back in the dark which was a bit scary. Especially for Troy and Gabi who witnessed 3 quad bikes in an accident, one actually having flipped over. We were pleased to get back to the base safely after an amazing experience. Will post more photos of our Sinai trip in the near future!
