Her Hetzel & Festival of Lights

On Monday, we had a tour of a famous cemetery in Israel of many military leaders.  The park was well shaded and very beautiful.  Hetzel was a man who greatly influenced the country in making Israel to be its own state.  Jeremiah loved the trains in this section of the city.  His favorite things to do while walking are to point at trains, buses and any big truck.  Also, on our park visits he loves to go and shake hands with all the little ladies he finds there.  And they love him for going and greeting them.  He will often run away to play and then come back and shake hands with them.  Monday night, we were able to go visit the Festival of Lights.  So- it wasn't quite what we had expected but it was still good.  They string lights all throughout the Old City and have different things for kids.  Jason and Dana stayed with Jeremiah when he went for bed at 8pm and we walked to the city.  It was wall to wall people- lots of people.

Us in our Hebrew Union College shirts

Jewish Quarter & Ben Yehuda

So- we are attempting to cook in Israel while we are here.  Things are very expensive in Israel so we have decided to try to cook a lot of our meals.  We have gone out a few times, but I have the fun challenge of trying to pick things out in the grocery stores by labels or pictures and it is always hard to know the price.  So far we have found some spaghetti sauce and beef and I made some tacos and a spanish beef recipe.  Tonight, I am attempting to make for all the boys chicken Parmesan with potatoes.  While Michael was off galavanting in the Negev dessert, J and I headed to the Old City with our trusty map and then walked to the supermarket all up hill and stopped and played in the fountain.  How thankful I am that my sweet sister-in-law Laura sewed the straps to my book bag- today showed the test of her skill as I had my little stroller filled with groceries and a huge watermelon in my backpack.  Needless to say, after the 25 minute walk home- I was glad to sit down. 

On Sunday, we took a tour of the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem with a top archeologist here.  We went through some remains of Herod's old mansions and palaces.  And we had a pretty awesome view again of the Temple Mount from the Jewish quarter.  Each section of the Old City is a whole different world as there is the Jewish, Armenian, Christian and Muslim quarters.  Sunday night then, we took a walk to the market and got some wonderful fruit!  We also had dinner on Ben Yehuda street- which is a popular place to go.  We had our first taste of Schwarma which we loved!!!  It is meat, tomatoes, cucumbers in a pita with a hummus type sauce.  I have been surprised how Jeremiah has loved the food here.  He is loving the pitas and meat and is doing great with whatever we give him.

Jeremiah in Israel

 We have found a few little parks that we have enjoyed taking Jeremiah too in the evening or after his naps.  This particular park has lion and elephant fountains.  All the neighbor kids come and play in this fountain.  Jeremiah has loved it- until the big kids start splashing him too much.

 The weather here has been hot but it cools down in the evenings which is a perfect time to walk.  We wear lots of sunscreen and hats around everywhere.  The evenings though are very cool and beautiful.  I love all the beautiful flowering bushes they have around here- it truly is beautiful- I love it! 

Wailing Wall in Old City

This is an old tomb, like one that Jesus might have been in.

 On Thursday, we did a tour of the Western Wailing Wall and we took a tour under Temple Mount.  I did not realize that because of the Muslim quarter, the Jews could not get to the wall closest to the temple because Muslims lived there.  So they have been digging tunnels under the wall and there is a passage way that people walk through and pray at the site closest to the Temple Mount.

Jeremiah and Michael in the tunnel

View of the Wailing Wall

We found an amazing park near the apartment that I love to walk to.  It has a beautiful view of the Old City.  We love to walk there in the evening when it is cooler and getting dark. I just love exploring cities and finding parks.  I told Michael that I thought I could live in Jerusalem.  I love the beauty of the city, the clear blue skies and just the mix of diversity in cultures. 

View of the wall from the park

 Since Saturday was Shabbat here and most Jewish places shut down, we decided to walk into the Old City and see the Christian quarter.  This is Michael and Jeremiah and Charlie and Jason.  We walked into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher too which is a massive huge church.

 This week is the Festival of Lights in the Old City where they light it up, so I think Michael and I will try walking the Old City tonight after dark while Jeremiah is sleeping. :)

Sites in Israel

Jeremiah and Charlie digging in the dirt

Jeremiah and I at the Pool of Siloam

The past few days we have been seeing sites in Israel.  The schedule has worked out pretty well.  I have been going out with Jeremiah in the morning and the Dana and Charlie and Jeremiah and I head back by 12:30ish for their afternoon naps.  The second day we were here, we toured the City of David and Hezekiah's tunnel.  Jeremiah and I did not wade through the tunnel as it is dark and the water comes up waist high on everyone.  We went through a smaller tunnel.  In the afternoon, while we were resting, Michael went hiking to find some tombs with a guide in the area.

Arriving in Israel

Praise the Lord we arrived safely in Israel on Tuesday afternoon after our journeys.  Jeremiah did amazing on the flight- he had a little trouble getting to sleep but then when he passed out, he was out.  I held him for 2 hours until my arm went numb and then we were able to put him on the little stand next to our seat for him to sleep.  There happened to be a little stand next to me where he could lay as a little bed.  It was an amazing answer of prayer for our flight!  He woke up with one hour left for some breakfast.  Jeremiah loved watching the planes in the airport and looking outside of the airplane at all the clouds.  The past few days we have been getting adjusted.  Jeremiah was up for 2 nights at different times but he did better last night.  Yesterday, we took him on a tour of the City of David and Hezekiah's tunnel- where Jeremiah and I did not go in the tunnel as the water goes up to your waist and it is dark but we crawled through another tunnel.  Today we took a tour of the Western wall under the Temple Mount.  When Jeremiah and I go back for his nap in the afternoon with Dana and Charlie, Michael goes on to do other tours with a leading HUC archeologist here.  We are thankful for all your prayers and encouragement.

The Dome of the Rock

The Western Wailing wall we went to today

Toothbrush?

Jeremiah reminds me that you must remember your toothbrush when packing.  Lots to do and pack here- our busy household is in full swing.  At least we stopped last night and had some LaRosa's Gluten Free pizza with the Lyons family.  I have been trying to gather some fun "small and new" toys that can go with us on our journeys to keep my very busy boy somehow entertained on my lap even for a few moments!  We are hoping!  ;)

Getting Ready...

 We are busy getting ready for our trip to Israel.  Jeremiah has gotten his hat to ward off the intense sun, but you would think he was going to Mexico.  There is a lot to do before we go and we are slowly getting things in order and praying for health and safe travel.  The key is to be flexible as we do not know all we will run into over there. 

While I am packing, Jeremiah is throwing everything out of the suitcase.  Hence, we have called for Grandma patrol and she is going to be taking him for a day so we can get some stuff done.  Jeremiah loves putting on his daddy's shoes lately and loves to put on hats and ride his horsey.  I am so grateful for all the moms at our church that have given us some of their hand-me-down clothes and toys- the zebra is one of them! 

The Strawberry Patch

 It was a beautiful day for strawberry picking.  This was Jeremiah's first time.  We went with a group of friends and a lot of children.  Jeremiah's favorite thing to do with the berries- squish them.  By the time we got to my friend's house- some kids had given him berries and he had them all over his face and pants and was sitting on them.  He loves his berries.