Traditionally regarded as the location where the angel visited the shepherds
Church of the Nativity
Judean Desert
Masada--A fortress which Romans seized from Jewish rebels
The Dead Sea
Hearing of these places my entire life, they always lived in my imagination. Seeing them now breathes new life to my perspective, my faith, my worship.
Allen Street: slanted floral ceiling, the smell of your Tea Rose perfume, the sound of your singing the Hiawatha song as we lay on your bed falling asleep.
With you, I felt safe, welcome, wanted.
It was with you that we named our first pet, Macaroni of Oz Humphrey, and you always loved him. Your care for even the humblest of God's creatures has taught me much.
Exploring your basement or guest room or upstairs for treasures remains a favorite pastime of childhood.
Always creative in parties, letters at camp, gifts and science projects, you inspired me to think outside the box and put effort into the little details.
I love that you always speak your mind---no matter the response.
Your generosity is a consistent blessing and boon to so many. As my mother attests, it was at times because of you that we had food to eat and electricity in our home.
Having only sisters myself, seeing you and Aunt Marge live together makes me so thankful for my family. You shared daily meals, bantered and teased, supported and cared for each other If we are lucky, our sister relationships will ripen and mature as yours did, always offering a sassy kick in the pants and a constant source of companionship.
In the years before Aunt Marge died, I was awed by your strength, your constant service of your sister. With the sheer physical necessities, many people half your age couldn't have done what you did. Your love runs deep as bone, rooted in the sinews of your heart and fueled by loyalty in love.
Your strength, your courage, your energy and persistence are such admirable qualities and I can only hope to embody a fraction of what you do. Though you have faced many challenges in life, you have not allowed them to steal your appreciation for goodness, beauty and faith.
Thank you for giving birth to, raising and loving my mother so that she could do the same for me, and I for my own children.
I love you, Grandma. Thank you for the gift of you.
Danielle, I remember when we met 12 years ago (WHOA that's a long time). I was a senior in high school and you were a freshman at ND. I remember thinking:
"A Danielle who's goofy, has long hair, loves Jesus and sings?
She's totally going to be a soul sister."
And you know what? Twelve years and many memories later, you are a sweet sister in Christ.
This is making me miss my girls!
I thank you, Danielle, for your constant yes to God, for accepting His gift of music and having the courage to share it with the world.
I thank you for your generous heart, for your desire to help others see that they are loved, that they are children of God. You are an instrument of grace, and a conduit of Jesus' love.
Thank you for keeping our Cecilia Rose in your heart, for being a namesake and the first messenger of her quiet beginning in my womb.
Thank you, Dan and Rosie for being co-creators!
For those of you who don't know, Danielle is an incredibly gifted music minister.
If you want to hear a snippet of her music, and purchase any albums, you can go to Amazon. Here are the links:
If you are interested in booking her, visit her website: http://www.daniellerose.com
Love you, D.
~~~~
Tonight, we heard a woman tell us about her 2 week endeavor helping the Olive Tree Campaign. It's a non-political human rights initiative to re-plant olive trees.
"When the campaign was launched in 2002 it objective was to replant 50,000 olive trees in the Palestinian Territories through the sponsorship of individuals, YMCAs, YWCAs, churches, church related organizations, human rights organizations, as well as solidarity and advocacy groups around the world. Through replanting olive trees, Palestinians will be encouraged to keep hope alive and to reaffirm their commitment to work constructively toward peace-building."
Source:http://www.jai-pal.org/content.php?page=1
When learning more about realities on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it can get very overwhelming and frustrating. This is a constructive attempt to bolster those who, for many reasons, may not have much reason to hope. Please visit their website if you feel so inclined, and email me if you have more questions.
~~~
Last night I talked for almost an hour with Erica about her upcoming visit. [We grew up next door to eachother and have remained friends through the innumerable phases of life]. She is coming to visit for TWO AND A HALF WEEKS, and I can't wait. I feel like it's a perfect time for visitors, as we are really starting to feel like we have a handle on the area, or at least know who to ask for guidance. What fun it will be to show her around, and share our everyday joy. HUZZAH!!
~~~
And to sign off, I'll share a few videos of late.
First is Ceci and her adorable new skillz. She's all about animal noises lately, and here she is displaying her talent:
The second is a view from our living room of pouring rain amidst bright sunshine:
Jacob in his sugar-addicted glory, oblivious to everything around him as he hunkers down:
And lastly, the howler monkeys I promised. Hi to the larious:
I wanted to add pics, but the wireless is slow as molassy tonight. :(
I am thankful for:
**A (mostly) healed knee. It's still stiff and tender if I walk too long, and it's in that scabby tight phase of healing, but I think that there is no long-term damage. THANK GOD!
**That God provides in due time. I was so concerned about Jacob's transition here, and just when things were getting extra hard being away from friends, dear Olivia arrived. She fits quite naturally into the Haley swing of things, and we cherish her long afternoon visits. She was over all day today, and we played hide and seek, went on the swing set, made Valentines, read and the list goes on. It's an extra help for me too, with wrangling Ceci or distracting Jacob. Olivia is a lovely, intelligent young woman and I am excited to see how she grows and blossoms.
**A bustling Tantur. With college students re-located and local Jewish/Arab conferences and visiting scholars, the place is hopping. I of course loved the quiet too, but there's something familial about a full house. It's a wonderful weaving of diverse faiths, ethnicities, ages, sizes, colors, opinions and I LOVE it!!
**Our nice rhythm we've settled into. We are really at home, and it's greatly reassuring that we grow where we're planted. And transplanted. :)
**The Tantur staff. Like extended family, they pinch cheeks and make animal noises, tease Jacob and tickle Ceci. When I was injured, they showed such care and concern. The housekeeping women even came and cleaned for me!!!!!! Seriously, that one almost made me cry.
[Men--if you want a no-fail gift, buy your lady a session(s) of professional housecleaning. She will fall in love with you all over again. Am I right, or am I right?]
**Our Bible study on the book of Ruth. We come from different faith backgrounds and approaches, but our intimate group is full of curiosity and joy.
**My renewed desire to know, learn, meet, observe as much as possible. Cliche as it sounds, I'm drunk on life and the unlimited ways to find beauty. Example: Our neighbor, Inga, who is from Sweden but has lived here for 5 years, is an artist. She agreed to give a few of us drawing lessons, and our first one was yesterday. Gently, helpfully guiding, she taught us with the obvious joy she takes in her art.
**Ceci and her adorableness. Gregarious, determined, adventurous, feisty.
She LOVES to read and runs over with her favorite lift-a-flap book, opens to her favorite page of animals, and proceeds to make animal sounds for: puppy, monkey, and my two favs elephant and tiger. It pretty much makes me want to nibble her up
*Kinger Eggs, Kinder Bueno, Kinder Kinder Kinder chocolate
Last night I was thinking over the past few days and the various injuries Ceci has incurred. She bonked the coffee table and split her tongue, ran into the wall corner and got a goose egg, split her lip, cut her finger and other things. This girl has the Haley energy, running, climbing, exploring, so she's bound to get some war wounds.
The rest of us had escaped injury thus far.
I should have expected it.
It's been too long.
On the rocky, hilly terrain with my clumsy nature, I've been lucky to avoid it.
But yesterday, it happened.
Dum-duh-dum-dum-duuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh: I fell.
One minute I was happily trapsing along with the fam, cracking a joke and handing shekels over to Kevin, the next minute I'm writhing on the ground in pain and wailing despite myself.
Cue: Shock. Pain. Embarrassment.
[If you are weak stomached, skip to the ***]
Convinced I would find my patella down by my ankle, I lifted my jeggings (the riduculously named wonder that they are) and was shocked.
A perfect backwards J, road-carved into my knee, turned ashy white and then fierce with color.
Blood---oh the blood---rivulets pouring down my calf, pooling in my sock, dirtying my lovely fuschia Keens. Damn.
And because I am always curious about such things, a pic for those who like the gore. Skip ahead to *** if you wish.
As I noted, and Dennis later did too, I will be forever marked by Jerusalem, complete with the backward J. :)
Really not so bad after a clean-up by the pro
****
Dear Jacob was taking his off-road "secret passageway" down the hill and didn't see me fall, but walked into the aftermath. My poor sensitive buddy immediately started weeping, asking if I was going to die, wimpering and shaking as Kevin scooped me off the sidewalk.
Of course, since our life of late is a movie, we look up and see one of the women from the Ecce Homo gathering on Saturday driving into Tantur with her big white van. Then, three women appeared out of nowhere to help Kevin get me into the van and off we went.
On the short drive up the hill, the woman Claire told me that Sr. Bridgette, the assistant rector, is also a nurse/midwife and would be able to tend to my wounds.
Of course she is.
Sr. is such an amazing woman, with the most selfless hospitable servant's heart, and it was at one in the same time surprising and not surprising to hear this.
We hobbled into the lobby, and all the workers moved quickly to find sister and help me put my leg up. She expertly cleaned and assessed my wound, deciding that it didn't need a stitch. It's certainly a wide but shallow gouge. I was more concerned with the gelatinous wobblys underneath, but we are keeping an eye on it. I've been able to bear weight on it, and even walked up to dinner tonight.
Yesterday, Kevin took the rest of day off, which is always difficult for him. One of the drawbacks of his incredible self-discipline is that it can be hard to adapt when the unexpected arises. But, he stayed home to take care of the kids while I rested and stayed off my feet.
Just as it would be in the Village, people called, stopped by, offered to help. Dear Beverly and Dennis took our little firecracker Ceci for a couple hours this morning to wear her out walking up and down stairs, hallways, whatever she could. The housekeeping ladies stopped in and offered to clean the apartment for us. Olivia came and tended Jacob while I rested a bit. We have been so blessed by community, and for this I am deeply thankful.
I'm hoping to be back to semi-normal activity tomorrow. Until then, I'll return to my newest obsession: Connect-the-Dots for all ages.
Living in Israel, one quickly adjusts to the entire city virtually shutting down from Friday afternoon to Saturday sundown. Grocery shopping, cleaning, errands and other such things need to be done before places close up shop for the duration. I ventured into the city alone today, in rainy weather and untimely buses. A trip that in the States would have taken 40 minutes, tops, took almost 3 hours. After that fuss, I really needed some down time, which we happily had. America really should adopt some variation on Shabbat, as it forces us to slow down, to take time for visiting, sharing a meal, caring for one another. (Kevin says to check out Exod. 19:8-11 and the revolutionary Apostolic Letter Dies Domini at http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_05071998_dies-domini_en.html)
Naomi, Mark, the twins Peter and James and their friend Kalindy came over on Saturday and it was certainly was a peaceful Shabbat. We enjoyed a lovely lunch of sauteed onions and zuchinni in a creamy tomato roux on a bed of quinoa. Totally made up from our communal ingredients and really quite fab.
I love how quickly relationships form and strengthen when we cleave to other members of our minority. It it is such comfort to have fellow Christians, let alone from ye old Notre Dame. It was the second time the Hoipkemiers came over, and we quickly settled into a rhythm of chat, nap, eat, repeat. Amongst the music of children and comfort of visitors, it makes my heart happy.
Saturday night we we went to Ecce Homo, the traditional site where Pilate turned Jesus over to be killed.
Because we were attending a gathering of people who meet for Mass once a month, we didn't go into the main Basilica, although we certainly will in the future. Mass was on the terrace with breathtaking views. We were within a block of the Dome of the Rock, and all of Jerusalem twinkled and honked, meowed and chanted for us. Forgive the horrid hasty, blurry photos---It was windy and chilly!
The people were perhaps the most welcoming I've met here yet. Almost every single person approached us to say hello, welcome, that they were glad we came. English, Irish, Indian, American, old, young and in between converged in a little room to celebrate Mass.
As we walked up a narrow stone hallway and onto the terrace, Kevin and I, as we often do, commented, "Oh, by the way, we have two kids, and we live in Israel, and we are looking at the Dome of the Rock like it's our back yard...umm when did that happen?"
Mass was simple and comfortable, with the kiddos toddling about and Kevin and I tag teaming time on the terrace. (Don't you love alliteration)? During the homily, an Indian brother spoke about how happy he was to be among us, to see our eyes and touch our hands. In lilting sing-song voice, he drew us in, entranced us with the depth of his joy, his radiant trust that God was present with us. It was one of those reeling moments, when memories of past anointed gatherings converge and I am awestruck by this common love, this familiarity in foreign land, this home among strangers.
After Mass, we shared a meal of lasagna and other goodies. As I sat chatting with new friends, the Indian man, Br. Tony (I don't even know how he got that name), came to me and clasped my hand. In his smooth, musical voice, he patted my hand and said, "I know you are a woman of joy. You show joy in your face, you show love. You are so relaxed and happy. I am happy because you are happy."
Yeah, that happened.
It's one of the dozens of moments a week when I feel I'm playing a role in some epic sweeping tale, and I'm rockin' it.
Anyhoo, last night (Sunday), we had our weekly special meal. Every Sunday, there are wine and candles and a little extra special food, like steak and potatoes and yummy cake. With each meal shared, I feel it...We make a home wherever we are.
Sisters Maureen and Sr. Bridget
Fr. Jim
Debra and Dan
Dennis and Beverly
I'm going to leave you with some pics of our incredible surroundings.
Today [Wednesday] was a good day. A happy day. After several incredibly rainy, gloomy days, it was [mostly] sunny, so we decided it was a good time for a jaunt to the zoo.
[Ok, so I have no room to complain about weather to my significantly-Midwestern readership. I FEEL FOR YOU! I know in some ways there's a romantical feel to snow days and oodles of the fluffy stuff, it's also inconvenient and fertile ground for cabin fever, or cabin gever as I told Kev the other day].
When given the chance to spend time out in fresh air and sunshine, I am energized and happy to breathe more deeply and frolic about. Add to it my boys and my girl
and you have one happy D.
Because today is apparently the coldest day of the year (haha with a low tonight of a whopping 35 degrees), the zoo was not busy at all, and for long stretches we had the place "to ourselves." With the rolling, rocky hills and well-kept grounds, this is one of the most beautiful zoos I've ever visited. Our membership is probably the best investment we've made yet, and one we plan to use many times for the playground and sculpture park in themselves, let alone the animals.
Speaking of animals. Boyoyoy, the aptly named Black Howler Monkeys had me cracking the patooty up today. There happened to be a few school groups on a field trip, and we all gathered to watch these incredible primates, with bulging necks who were squawking like no other. I am going to share a few videos w/you just to show the hilarity when we find the camera. Please forgive my own incessant squawking---I was just further entertainment for all the Hebrew-no-English-speaking schoolchildren.
It was so nice to leisurely stroll through the zoo, hand in hand with my lovies feeling quite at home. It's amazing that we've only been here for 23 days for it seems we have settled into a routine so quickly.
~~~
This week two new visiting scholars and their families arrived, allowing our longer-term community to really start to form. Though we may not see much of eachother during the day, it is with great anticipation that we sit down for dinner, people gathered from all over, to share a meal and the day's events. How amazing it is, that after only a few hours with previously perfect strangers, we can form such a familial bond.
Let me introduce you to our Tantur family (pictures to follow as long as I finally remember my camera for dinner):
Lisa, who has been an adopted mom/grandmother, helping with numerous practicalities and offering hugs and squeezes with a nurturing hand.
Brian and Hannah from Notre Dame. What a blessing to have friends from home who are so approachable and accommodating, especially to Jacob's interest in Brian's boxing skills. They are a lovely couple who bless others with their peaceful natures. Sadly, Brian is headed back to South Bend tomorrow, but we will have the lovely Hannah with us for the remainder of our time.
Fr. Jim, who loves our children like they were his niece and nephew, tickling Ceci or following her up and down the stairs and teasing Jacob with energy and zest.
Sr. Bridget, the assistant rector, whose hospitality is superb.
Maureen, Sr. Bridget's sister, who is visiting for a few weeks. Her lovely British accent, riveting stories and gentle way with children are delightful.
Beverly and Dennis, from Alabama. Dennis is a philosophy professor and his wife Beverly teaches Sunday school. We immediately gelled with them, as they have a warm southern sense of hospitality and genuine gift of listening. Jacob is particularly fond of Scout the dog [puppet] who has accompanied them on their journey to Israel and will help share the experience with Beverly's 5 year old students.
Dan, Deborah and Olivia, just arrived the day before yesterday. They have a great sense of humor, and Jacob is just SMITTEN with Olivia, who is 12. She is a lovely and smart young woman, who has already been a wonderful boon for Jacob. Tonight after dinner they played ping-pong, ate dessert together, did some dot-to-dots and made plans for future playtimes.
And of course Fr. Tim, our fearless rector: cool, calm, collected.
Random Joys
Though no rival to the snowpocalypse, it has been quite chilly the last few days. Due to the ginormity of Tantur, they don't turn on the heat unless there is a large group in, so we have small space heaters to keep the chill at bay. There's nothing like bundling up in my homeless boxer look and slipping into bed next to a warm heater.
Skpye, skype, skype how I love thee. Seriously, it still blows my mind that we can have visual, audible connection with our loved ones from across the world. We use it, on average, 6 or 7 times a day for chatting with family and friends or even watching Schoolhouse Rock with cousin Elise.
Oh Schoolhouse Rock. Seriously, they don't make stuff like this anymore. In trying to feel my way through a (very laidback) kindergarten/first grade homeschool groove, I love using different learning techniques and music is a BIG one. These are a few of our favorites, and we have many of them memorized already. :)
I LOVE the relationship between Kevin and our kiddos. He is such an incredible father, so in love with Jacob and Cecilia, so playful and affectionate, firm and forgiving. One of my favorite things to peek in on is Kev and Jacob's nightly pre-bed discussions which run the gamut from outer space, making friends, infinity to why he can't fly, always peppered with Jacob's new habit of vocalizing his listening and comprehension in very adult "mmhhmms" and "uh-huhs." It's not just one time, but seriously, hilariously constant. We'll have to do a covert video for that one.
ANYWAY, tonight, the menfolk called me in to share an idea Jacob created. As background: We had a little gathering after dinner to bid Brian farewell. There were dessert and drinks and as the adults got to have wine, beer, coffee and such, Lisa said Jacob could pick whatever he wanted from the famed fridge of special drinks. Anyhoo, Jacob very rarely gets pop, let alone half a can. He told Kevin he felt kind of crazy, and that he was worried he was drunk (he knows what this is b/c of why we drink alcohol in moderation). This led to talk about how he couldn't get drunk from sprite, which led to what happens when people drink too much and drive, and so on.
Jacob, in his creative problem solving came up with 3 solutions to drunk driving:
1). When scientists are finished developing an invisibility cloak (which according to Kev, is actually in the works), someone could wear one and then stand in the way of the person and their car, thus preventing them from getting in.
2). Dig a hole in the mud, put the keys in, cover them back up and let grass grow over it.
3). Build a 10 ft. high brick wall around the car. When the person sobers up, tear it back down with a hammer.
Yeah, we're still laughing/in awe about that one over here.
And now I will end this insanely long post by gorging you with pictures, as I pretty much can't stop taking them.
