We're almost on week 8 of Jerusalem. It's amazing how fast the time goes when you're desperately trying to make the most of every day. Several weeks ago we all caught the Jerusalem plague. I thought we were never going to feel better again. I spent several days in bed hacking and coughing and feeling like I was dying. We as a family went through many, many boxes of tissues. As this week ends we are finally putting away the tissues(everyone but me), breathing through our noses and coughing only a little at night. Funny enough the Jerusalem plague coincided perfectly with the massive rains that poured down from the sky and into our house! Our deck was a lake and our living room was a puddle. Our kitchen was a stream and we were out of towels. Beseder. We are all alive so that's what counts. Aaron is growing up and finally talking. His favorite phrase is "and me." If Sadie or anyone gets something he wants he repeatedly yells "and me" until we finally give it to him. Sadie is growing out of her clothes. She turned four in March. I'm not sure if she is learning any Hebrew in her Hebrew speaking preschool but she seems happy so it's a good fit. They seem to have acclimated to Israel and are happy. I'm slowly making friends. There are a lot of interesting, cool people here who are in touch with God and are into living a healthy lifestyle. It's also great hanging out with other women who support living naturally and don't obsess over circumcision. None of us love it but we respect that it's part of our heritage and a religious obligation. It's also so refreshing to get together with other moms and talk about God and life. They are willing to engage and discuss questions about the Holocaust, predestination, the future, whatever I'm grappling with as I learn more about Judaism. Logan and I are both learning. I have two wonderful teachers I meet with once a week and I'm checking out different seminaries to see if I can find one that I want to attend. I'm struggling with making a decision. Right now I have a babysitter for Aaron but it's not for enough hours per day if I want to attend seminary. Plus, it really adds up financially. It makes sense to put Aaron in a little daycare. I am hesitating since he's so young and I'm not sure how he will like daycare but I really want to have the time in the day to attend Jewish classes. I've also signed up to become a DoTerra representative. I've heard so much about oils and I am really excited to becoming well versed in their uses. I can't wait to adorn myself with the scents of beautiful essential oils. Yesterday we attended a Haredi wedding. It was a beautiful experience. The bride and groom come from extremely large families. The bride is one of 13 and I think the groom comes from a comparably large sized family. I am planning on writing a whole blog post on the way people dress here based on their sects. There are Haredi and there are groups within the Haredi. There are modern Orthodox, secular Israelis, Zionist religious Israelis and settler Israelis. Everyone dresses differently based on their community. They also cover their hair differently - men and women. Head coverings of hats, wigs, scarves, kippas are all based on community standards. Most Haredi agree that once you are married you wear black. It can be shiny black, dull black, sparkly black but you should really wear black. Haredi men typically wear black suits with a white button down shirt. They also have an affinity for black or furry hats. Logan doesn't own a fancy hat. My head covering was the right color but not the right material. The woman all had velvet or some other kind of fancy looking black head coverings. I wasn't sure how fancy I could go so I went with my plainest head covering. Ideally I should be wearing a skin tight black shirt under my dress to cover more of my collarbones and to show that I am modest because I am wearing two layers. I am wearing black stockings and flats. Almost none of the women were wearing heels, I saw a few one inch heels but flats were the typical shoe. I promised an update on life, the universe and everything. So, in case you're wondering, almost all the religious agree that was are now officially in the times of the Moshiach. Essentially we are going to see the rebuilding of the temple and only good will exist in this world in the near (next few hundred years or less) future. The world will return to a place of peace. Is it true? Who knows. But, it's interesting. Do I hope it's true? Yes! The Haredi and the Zionist religious Jews agree on this point - a rare agreement in this unstable land.
Fun fact: Passover is in three weeks. People are already going nuts and freaking out about cleaning. This began right when Purim ended. I am asked constantly if I started cleaning. I'm not sure what to say since we typically clean for Passover the night before in a mad dash as we cry in exhaustion. Thankfully Logan's parents are coming into town on Sunday and we're spending a week traveling. One less week I have to worry about cleaning!
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Meet the Blogger!
I'm a mom. A writer. A lover of good fantasy. A proponent of nursing when possible. A birth advocate. I am absolutely horrible at keeping my house clean or the dishes washed or the laundry done. I strongly believe in women having a positive birth. When we start to respect women's rights to birth the way they want, we can start to treat women as equal people in this world. Archives
February 2016
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