Jerusalem 1

It's been hard deciding how to break up all these photos! Between all 3 famillies we probably took around 2000 pictures so you can imagine how difficult it is to actually sit down and work on this project! And if I were to just make a post entitled "Jordan Trip" I'm not sure the blogger website would be able to handle it! Plus, we've been dealing with a very sick little boy the past few days so my attention has been diverted a bit.

We were in Jordan for about a week just spending time with family, seeing a few sites there (which I've already posted about) and celebrating Christmas. On the 26th, we left Jordan and headed to Israel. This is literally about 50 miles away but it took us 5 hours to make the trip. This is because of all the security of exiting one country and entering another. We headed to Old City Jerusalem first where we stayed on Via Delarosa St. in an old convent that was turned into a dormitory-style hotel many years ago called Notre Dame de Sion Ecce Homo Convent.

Our first stop in Jerusalem was Anwar's. This is a friend of Matthew's who owns a little pizza restaurant in the Old City. While the food was very yummy, my favorite part was the lemon-mint slushies!

Paying in shekels...

 The streets of the Old City are amazing! There are people everywhere and vendors are lined up all over the street. There were times where I almost felt like I walked onto the set of a movie.

I know this is hard to see, but basically down below these grates (maybe 4-5 feet) are supposedly part of the actual streets that were present when Jesus walked around Jerusalem. When renovations are made, it's basically just on top of the old streets.

 Jersusalem: The view from where we stayed

  Le Ecce Homo Convent is like a huge maze of buildings and rooms! One could get lost very easily around the place....and some of us did! Unfortunately, all of our rooms were no where near each other so that made it more challenging!

  The Dome of The Rock at night. This is also a view from where we stayed.

 The Western Wall. The Jews believe that God still inhabits parts of the wall and the temple behind the wall. You will see some pretty interesting things taking place at this site.

People will write prayers on pieces of paper and put them in the wall.

Men and women have to go to seperate sides of the wall and men are required to cover their heads.

A bomb detonation pod...

This is another view from our roof. On the very left is the Dome of the Rock. The sun is peaking over the Mt. of Olives and the taller building is a Mosque. You could hear the call to prayer 5 times each day no matter where you were.

We took several video clips and while I won't bore you with a lot of them, a few of them might be helpful in painting a picture of some of the things we experienced. This one will give you a small glimpse of what it's like to walk around in Jerusalem. It can be a little unnerving especially with your little ones in tow but it was surprisingly fairly easy to get used to! :)

Stay tuned...this is only the beginning! :)

Still To Come....

I apologize for the lack of updates of the last part of our Jordan trip. When we headed to Israel there really wasn't much way (or time) for me to work on the blog and once we got back to Jordan we only had a couple of days left so it was spent focusing on our time with family. We are home now and are doing our best to adjust back to normal life. The last 2 1/2 weeks have been amazing! Our trip was definitely one of a lifetime and won't soon be forgotten. Unfortunately, pictures will not do the experiences we had much justice as it is something you must experience yourself....which I highly recommend if you're given the opportunity. As my brother-in-law, Matt, explained it we got to view the bible in 3D! The stories came to life right before our eyes and it was breath-taking! We are working on organizing and editing pictures and I will hopefully get them up soon.

Jordan Tidbits

There is obvioulsy lots going on right now which means there are many pictures and stories. I wanted to post a few of the other places we have visited and some of the interesting tidbits we have learned about Jordan. For starters, there are a couple of Jordan facts that just don't sit right with me. The first is that you can't flush toilet paper....which makes using the bathroom a little interesting. The second is that driving in this country is all sorts of chaotic! Child seats are not required and, in fact, are not often used. Lauren and Matt happen to have 2 toddler seats given to them by someone. The 3 boys basically take turns using those and we will often just be seen driving around like this...

 Here are a couple of places that might look familiar...

 This is a huge, 2-story Starbucks.

 A couple of days ago we went to the mall to let the kids play in the little indoor amusement center they have.

 After we played, we stopped for lunch at a very familliar place...

 Ahhh...a little taste of home!

Last night, Dad, Matt, Aaron and Jeff went out for an authentic dinner while the girls stayed home with the kids and ate some lasagna. I had brought over a gingerbread train for us to put together. I'm very impressed that it actually made it in one piece even though I packed it in diapers and towels. My boys were so worn out from the day that they didn't make it up for putting it together, so it was all Caedmon! Unfortuantely, our Reid took a spill on the floor and had another breath-holding spell. Even though it's happened before and in my heart of hearts I knew he would be fine, it was still just as scary as the first time!

 I'm a little surprised at how much English there is around here, however, this is a little odd to see when I pull up the browser on my phone...

The day after Christmas we are leaving for 5 days to visit Jerusalem, Nazareth and Galilee. I'm not sure what kind of internet access we will have while there but I will attempt to post pics if I can. I can't imagine a more appropriate place to be as we celebrate the birth of our Lord this year! We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Three Amazing Sites

Mt. Nebo

Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. Then the LORD said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”

And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.  Deuteronomy 34: 1-7

 While driving around you will see many bedouins (desert dwellers). 

 The Jordan River

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Matthew 3:13-17

 While no one knows the exact location, this is the place that is believed to be the baptism place of Jesus. There is not much reference in the bible to the exact location in the river, but there are some other indications that would help, for example, the remains of the earliest church in the area was found near this spot (under the covered area in the above picture).

 The Jordan River is the border between Jordan and Israel (where we will be heading next week). We went to another part of the river which was literally just a few yards wide. So, right on the other side of it you could see the Israel flag flying.

 Landon putting his hand in the river.

 These police are pretty much everywhere. Aaron happened to catch this guy smiling, and while most of them are friendly, they are very intimidating.

It's not uncommon to see this while driving. Most of these people (even kids) are trying to get you to pay for a ride. In fact, when we stopped at the Dead Sea we were bombarded with 3 or 4 camels at our car doors. They wanted to put the kids on the camel for a picture and then try to convinvce us to ride and pay them. They attempted to pick up Caedmon who was not interested and immediately just picked up Landon and threw him on a camel without thinking twice about asking if this was OK. The second that camel started rising up in the air with my 28 lb. child I turned into mama bear. I immediately started shouting at them and thankfully Matt stepped in to help.

The Dead Sea

 It's not uncommon to see people swimming in the Dead Sea (as we witnessed today) but we chose to only put our hands in. It feels very odd, almost slimy and oily like.  

 Salt deposits