Day 3

Day 3 started off with a half hour drive to Cana.  We had a Church service with Arab Christians from the Christian Holy Land foundation.  We had communion, sang songs, and prayed together.  The sermon was in Arabic & translated into English

We each received  this communion cup as a gift.  What an incredible way to start off our trip!

Next, we isited the “Wedding Church”.  This was built to commemorate Jesus’ first miracle (turn water into wine). 

 For lunch, I ate the following:

We went to Nazareth and visited the following spring that dates far enough back that Mary & Jesus (as a small boy) would've gone here to get water.

Another church was built over where Mary was thought to live:

Next, we went to the Mount of Beatitudes.  You can't tell very well from this picture, but the slope on the hill forms a natural ampi-theater where the Sermon on the Mount was thought to occur:

Don't worry, I'm keeping Shivers & Kitty out of harm's way!

We finished off the day by going to Capernaum (where Jesus spent a majority of time and perfomed many miracles), followed by a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee.

All four of us decided to get "re-baptized" in the Jordan River.  So glad I decided to - what a wonderful experience to share with my family!  I'll post more pictures when I have the chance.  The internet here is sporadic and it takes a long time to upload photos.

Israel Trip - Days 1 & 2

We finally made progress on our trip to Israel.  We had a 7 hour layover in Philly, but made the most of it by playing cards & other games with each other in the airport.

We arrived at Tel Aviv around 3:15.  I only got about 2-3 hours of sleep on the plane, but at least got to see a few good movies (the new Mission Impossible movie & The Vow).  Here I am getting on the tour bus at Tel Aviv

We were on the bus for about 2 hours - so wonderful after a 10 hour flight :)

 Shivers & Kitty are still hanging in there.  They slept well on the plane.

 Here's our hotel room on Lake Galilee.

Here's a beautiful view of the lake

 And here I am with Beth

 Dinner was good.  Here's a pic of my plate.  Didn't love it, didn't hate it.  I need to take a pic of the dessert bar tonight - now that was good!

Beth, Pops, & I went for a jog after dinner.  It was beautiful weather.  Sunset was around 8:15.  We have a big day planned tomorrow.  Hopefully I can get a good internet connection and post more updates.  I had to get up at 5:30 a.m. in order to get online!  Stay tuned for more updates.

Softball, softball, and more softball

Alyssa's Blaze Team:

Miss Homerun Hitter Alaina:

Making outs all day long at first:

Alyssa's Mean Pitching Skills:

Game ball after hitting a Triple:

This may be one of the only times we get this picture.  Alaina subbed for one of Alyssa's 8U games.  That's Alaina on 2nd and Alyssa on 1st after both getting hits.

Kindergarten Picnic

Alaina had a Kindergarten Picnic on Tuesday.  She won the "Zero" Award (with candy bar) for her crazy good math skills.  She has made a lot of great friends this year!

Field Day

I love helping with Field Day each year.  This year was no different - and I got to see both girls in action - loved it!

Alaina Finally Lost Her 1st Tooth!!!

I always was the creative one...