Heat Wave!

We are having exceptionally warm weather, and we are enjoying it! March weather in Jerusalem can swing from cold and rainy days in the 50s to warm and sunny days in the 80s! It is impressive how dramatically (and quickly) the temps can change in just a few hours.

Yesterday I met a former colleague from Hebrew University for lunch at First Station – a renovated old train station in Jerusalem. It was turned into a really lovely gathering place to go for food, activities, or music events.

The girls and I enjoyed our walk along the train tracks.

The weather was even warmer today! So warm, in fact, that we could have our first roof dinner of the warm season. So much fun! The girls love playing on our roof. Last summer Sarah was not yet walking.  Now both are very actively running around, kicking balls, and riding their little bicycles. What a difference a year makes in the lives of children.

Tomorrow the temps begin to drop again. We will be back to much cooler weather again by Sunday!

Hallelujah!

We have a rule in our house that the girls cannot get out of bed until the alarm clock in their room goes off. This alarm clock is a sleeping Nijntje – a favorite dutch children’s character. When Nijntje wakes up, Elizabeth knows she can get out of bed. So we are often woken up by Elizabeth appearing at our bed saying “Nijntje is wakker!”

There are some mornings when one (but usually both) of the girls wakes up before Nijntje. We enjoy eavesdropping in on their conversations as they await the magic moment of their release from their bedroom. Sometimes they complain and repeatedly call for us and ask when Nijnte will wake up. But often they also talk and play and sing songs together. This morning was especially sweet as they sang Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” as a duet!

It is a favorite song of our family. We personally love that our girls can sing with gusto a classical masterpiece (although we have not yet taught them to sing the different parts!). I made this video of them singing the Hallelujah Chorus together at our piano. Unfortunately Sarah lost about 75% of her concentration by the time I got my camera and turned on the video. A few minutes earlier she had been singing just as loud as Elizabeth!

Their early morning version was a little less exuberant and sung with a bit more reverence than the one shown below :)

First Trumpet Lesson

She was in awe of her father and the music he was making. She even made song requests!

Ballet Class

Elizabeth had her first dance class on Saturday afternoon. She loved it, and the class was the highlight of Elizabeth’s day!

I really enjoyed peeking in from the hallway and watching Elizabeth be so engaged in the class!

The teacher did great, despite the age difference in the class. There were three 3 year old girls and two older girls. If enough people sign up, the teacher will separate the younger from the older students. But for now, she is doing a great job of making it a fun experience for the little ones too!

The Big City!

I had a few errands to do in the center of Jerusalem. I decided earlier this week to do it as an outing with the girls. I have been promising Elizabeth a ride on the train every time we would drive past the tracks. It was time to make it happen! My friend T and her 2 year old son A joined us. They live near the train station we used and ride the train regularly. It felt a bit as if we country folks were on an outing with our big city friends! 

Hang on tight!

The train has completely changed the atmosphere of city center. This street used to be crowded with noisy buses and taxis. It is now a pedestrian friendly area (you just need to get out of the way when the train passes by)

.

We stopped for coffee and pastries at one of the cafes by the train tracks.

Elizabeth and A set themselves up for a front row view of the action.

Sarah then joined in the fun of their pretend play that the table was a steering wheel of a car.

Waiting at the station for the train to take us back to our car.

It’s not every public transportation system that can drive by the ancient walls of an old city!

The fun continued on our way back to the car.

The morning wore her out! Elizabeth rarely sleeps in the afternoon, but I still have her have a 30-45 minute quiet time in her room. She does great with this, by the way. She reads, plays with her toys and doll, and sings. But today she fell asleep. I took the opportunity to make a picture of our sweet, slumbering big girl.

In case you were curious, Barbara did not join us on our outing. Elizabeth protested us leaving her in the car – “Barbara will cry if she is left alone in the car”. We left her in the car with a book to read :) Barbara was happy and Elizabeth could agree to the arrangement!

Sweet Sayings

Tonight when Elizabeth was trying so hard to postpone falling asleep she said this very sweet thing to me:

“Mama, I love you. I like your face and how God made you”.

Aww…such sweetness! I had to go in and give her another kiss after she said that!

A Lush, Green Desert

This morning we went hiking in the desert near Jericho and the Dead Sea. The weather down by the Dead Sea is perfect right now. In another few weeks, this area will be too hot during the day for any physical activity.

We have had an exceptionally rainy winter season. One sign of this is the exceptionally green desert landscape. Typically at this time of year, one sees hints of green in the wilderness hills outside of Jerusalem on your way to the desert. And by the time you reach the Dead Sea, all green has disappeared. But one would never describe this landscape as “lush”. But the green we saw today in the desert was definitely lush! We even saw grass waving in the wind. And most surprisingly, it was still very, very green (I would even call it lush) when we reached our hiking destination by the Dead Sea. It is definitely the greenest we have ever seen this area!

Our rainy season is coming to an end. This green will likely all be turned to brown within another 3-4 weeks. So we were very happy to enjoy it while it lasts!

We hiked the lower part of Wadi Og, a dry river bed (except for when it rains and there is a flash flood).

It was a beautiful walk through a narrow canyon that was carved out of the rocks by the force of the flash floods.

Elizabeth has recently acquired a love of climbing. She is climbing everything and anything she can! So this hike was perfect for her. She loved climbing over all the large boulders. And tonight she said that was her favorite thing about the hike.

We also encountered some steep climbs that involved ladder rungs placed in the rock walls. Again, Elizabeth did great! Jonathan only had to spot her. She had no fear! So proud of our girl.

Sarah had an easier time because she could simply relax and enjoy the ride!

What was unexpected, however, were the pools of water. We have had some recent rains, so the sitting water was actually not that unexpected! Some we could easily walk through by stepping on rocks. But other pools required the adults to go barefoot and carry the little ones. What you don’t see in the picture below is that this pool lead directly to another ladder that needed to be climbed.

It was a really delightful morning with friends. Sarah and Elizabeth were all smiles and laughter.

They are becoming such great friends!

On our way back to our car after we ate lunch. And we were even home in time for Sarah to take her nap!

Someone is Growing Curls!

Baking

Several months ago we went to friend’s home for dinner. This friend is vegan. As I was to bring dessert, I had to track down an appropriate recipe. I found this vegan brownie recipe that uses grated zucchini as a replacement for eggs and butter. I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty the finished product really is! Because it is also simple and quick to mix up, the recipe has now been added to my baking repertoire.

Elizabeth and I made a batch of these brownies yesterday afternoon while Sarah was napping. Because there are no raw eggs in the batter, licking the beater can be done without any concern! I think it is safe to say she enjoyed it!

Elizabeth’s attempt to take a picture of me licking the beater. We clearly see what her focus is – the brownie batter!!

Spring weather!

Warm, spring weather equals lunch in the park with friends after our church service on Saturday afternoons! Today was the first of many of the season. Spring has arrived in Jerusalem! We may still get some rainy and cooler days. But these warm, sunny days will become more and more the norm during these next weeks! It’s been such a cold winter (in our home, mostly), that I am refusing to reflect on the fact that spring turns into the hot, hot summer. For now, I will simply enjoy the perfect weather of the present moment in time!

Baking with Elizabeth

In mid-February, we baked Date Bars to welcome Papa home from his long business trip to India.

The best thing when baking!

She even loves to help with the cleanup!

Musician in the Making

She’s got the poise, concentration and technique! Time will reveal if she also has the musical ear to go with it!

Keeping Up…

Because I consider this blog to essentially be a journal for me and our family, I have decided to start updating it anytime I post something on Facebook or just a picture or two that captures the daily joys. Not necessarily long and detailed, but as a way to remember those little moments of these days. I am finding it hard to carve out the time to write blog posts. This result is that there is a growing pile of blog topics that aren’t getting written! This only makes the blogging feel even more like a thing that takes too much time! So in between those times when I do have the time to update this blog with real updates and stories, I will also keep posting little tidbits from our days too.  Thanks for reading along!

So for today’s sweet moment:

As Elizabeth grows older, I love getting glimpses of the mature Elizabeth. In the mornings, she always comes to our bed; climbs in; and proceeds to talk and ask stories to be read to her. This morning I told her I was feeling a little sick (sinus, etc). Instead of her usual requests for attention and interaction, she sat quietly beside me for 10+ minutes, holding my hand and occasionally stroking my forehead. Melt my heart!!