Three Teens!

Our next big event was the day Miss Middler turned 13 in January! We are old fashioned, but we make our kids wait until 13 to officially get Facebook, just like the rule says. I once thought I might get into cake decorating, but that didn't "pan" out! So, I begged CC to make me a "like" symbol for Miss Midd's 13th birthday cake in honor of getting Facebook.

She invited a few friends out for bowling and dinner.

The girls took one lane, we took another.

These gals are from Italy, Korea, and America.

Her actual name, Esther, means "star." So, sometimes we use the Turkish name for "star" in referring to her. (Pronounced You'll Diz)

We stopped at Pepper Jam for some cheese pizza....

and Fanta!

The straws were the biggest attraction of the night for some.

And then she opened gifts under the watchful eye of her local priest.

Happy first teen birthday to one of the sweetest girls on the planet. Just tonight I took both Miss Middler and Twinkle to the doctor to find out why they are sick. The doctor wanted to take blood to see if it is viral or bacterial, but said he only needed a sample from one of them since they clearly have the same symptoms. Miss Middler tried to insist that the blood be taken from her rather than her sis. Sweet, sweet, sweet.

Israel: Goodbye For Now!

Our last day, a Sunday, we stopped and found a park. CC read some Scripture to us for our church time. (It was cold and windy!)

Then he led us in some songs and asked for volunteers to help with the motions!

My last little run to the grocery provided a surprise box of cereal for each kid for when we got back to Turkey. We miss yummy cereals in Turkey. We get cornflakes and cocoa puffs. Good cereals, but still, 12 years of cornflakes and cocoa puffs.

We flew out early in the morning, 6AM, over the beautiful, packed coastline of Tel Aviv. (I had since learned "tel" means hill.)

I had a good traveling seatmate for the short 3 hour flight back.

And then we got to our city and found SNOW!

It was truly a trip of a lifetime for me. As so many told me it would, it has made my Bible reading come to life. The place names I tended to skip over before have a new meaning for me. I immediately began teaching with maps in my middle school Bible class. A time or two, while teaching Bible to Miss Middler and Twinkle Toes, we've winked a "been there" at each other. I hope it has provided wonderful memories for my kids.  And most importantly, I came home with a deeper sense of wonder and understanding for our incomprehensible God. I know I will never forget Golgotha, because He had some things to say to me, and I listened.

Israel: Palestine, Pizza, People, and Providence

Palestine: At this point in our travels, we came very near Palestine. This shot is fuzzy, sadly, but it reminds me of the beauty I saw on the other side.

Everything looked different near the other side. The police cars were wrapped in extra metal and bars.

Pizza: We tried to keep our expenses down, so we never went out for a fancy Israeli meal. Soon after we checked in our hotel, we asked for a recommendation of something cheap and close by. We were told about a pizza place. This man, below, is named Adam. The pizza place's name was in Hebrew, so we just called it "Adam's Pizza." And we ate there every possible night that we could. We only took off for the Sabbath.

It was the best pizza any of us have ever had in our lives. And we were walking many miles each day, so ending the day with hot, fresh pizza was perfect.

In fact, on our last Sabbath there, CC parked our car outside the pizza shop, rain pouring down all around us. We waited and waited, just to see if Adam would open up again now that the Sabbath was officially over. We almost left. Almost. Then someone in the back seat screamed, "I see ADAM!!! I see ADAM!!!" Sure enough, Adam strolled in through the rain. We came in and warmed up and dried out, eagerly anticipating our last pizza there. CC loved it so much, he brought home 2 fridge magnets with their carry out number.

People: We were all 7 in a room for part of our time there. These were our bunk beds. There was absolutely no room to walk. So when we all were in the room, we had a rule...you have to stay on your bunk!

 Providence: Just as we were driving off on our last day for outings, CC noticed a sign for Emmaus.

Though the gates were closed, we were able to peer through and see the famous road to Emmaus before leaving Israel.

Israel: David and Goliath

We had just a little time left before heading back to Tel Aviv for our early morning flight.

So, CC drove us to the open field where Joshua fought a battle and the Lord caused the sun to stand still.

We then drove on to the spot where David slew Goliath the Philistine.

We began to read this famous Scripture, a favorite Bible story of my son.

And soon we were joined by a group of elderly Israelis. One man asked to take a family picture for us.

We began talking and had a wonderful conversation. They explained that their group, mostly retired, had been friends for most of their lives. They gather each month for a small outing. They explained that these Scriptures we were reading were permanently engrained in their minds, as they all had to memorize them as children. We explained how important it is to us, as Christians, to teach them to our children. We had such a nice time talking to them. The gentleman had lived in the US, and had even been to Tennessee. He began telling me of a small town in Tennessee that wanted its children to understand just how many Jews were killed in the Holocaust, so it collected a paper clip for each one. He became emotional as he explained it to me. He told me he was one of the few boys his age who had a grandfather in those years of the war.

Then my new friend sent the children down to a tree to get carob pods.

She showed us how to open them and eat the pod itself. It was so sweet! They are rich in both sucrose and protein. Native to the Middle East, it has been grown for 4000 years.

She then explained that the seeds are all exactly the same weight. Always. So they were used to measure the weight of gold. Hence, the word "carat." I had no idea! I counted out 24 of them for good measure! 24 carats!

It was a beautiful place. We made some new friends. I continued to fall in love with this country.

Israel: Up Close and Far Away

Traveling back to Jerusalem from the Dead Sea involved some serious Uno playing. It seemed to be the game of choice for this trip.

Miss Middler took my camera back out for some practice photographing "up close." She is getting very good!

I also got some shots from "far away." We tried our hardest to make it back from the Dead Sea before sundown on the Sabbath, so we could find some dinner. But we missed it. It was back to the little Gentile market for bread, cheese, and chips.

Knowing this would be the last Sabbath there, I got some pictures from our car the next morning. We read that the big circular hats are worn only by married men.