And we did go up to the Land of our Forefathers

Pictures and captions done by Carrie

Commentary done by both Mom and Carrie 

Leaving Utah

Last glimpses of our house... 

In the car to the airport!

14 filled suitcases- each equipped with a polka-dot duct tape tag

Saying goodbye to grandpa

Total carry-ons (the picture is missing the pillow pets)

Eyelash car (bahahaha)

On the Plane

Frost on the window

Marshmellow clouds

Beautiful view :)

"Slight" detour because of storms.  
This is the loopy path we took while waiting for the storm in New York City to blow over. 

Going straight thru a cloud. Turbulence? Of course.

Finally reaching New York.  

New York coming into view

JFK

Resting while waiting for our next flight

Isaac Stratford (9) and Amanda reading Calvin and Hobbes

Carrie suggested I tell about my conversation with a Jewish woman while waiting for the plane.  There were dozens of Jewish families in the JFK terminal, many with children, and one woman saw the word "BYU" on my t-shirt and started up a conversation.  Her name was Bracha (Hebrew for "blessing"), her husband was a rabbi, and she had been reading about Mormons on Wikipedia and was curious about what would cause someone to believe in our religion.  This was still in America (therefore I was not subject to the LDS non-proselyting agreement with Israel) so I could answer her questions.  She had some good ones, such as how someone could believe Joseph Smith's vision, not just because of the supernatural elements, but mostly because he was the only one who said he saw the angel and the plates, whereas the miracles of Moses were seen by an entire people (my answer: the Testimony of the Three and Eight Witnesses, a few of whom left the faith but continued to bear testimony of the gold plates).  She asked how I could  decide to be fully invested in Mormonism based on the spiritual and emotional experience of the Holy Spirit when many religions also have the analogous experience of the Holy Spirit (my answer: I am so grateful to be able to read and study the Book of Mormon and know by living its principles and by the gift of the Holy Ghost that Joseph Smith was inspired by God).  Bracha also wondered how I could believe that God has a physical body when Aristotelian logic proves that a creator should not be made out of the same substance as his creation (my answer: God is the father and creator of our spirits, whose body is tangible, but glorified and immortal.  When our spirits are one day separated from our bodies, they will live on, but in a limited fashion, waiting for the literal resurrection and reunion with their immortal bodies.  Then I asked Bracha about praticing Judaism, and she described how intellectual study and role models influenced her choice to depart from the secularism of her parents and become a practicing Jew.  She keeps kosher, covers her elbows and collarbone, and wears a wig to cover her hair.  Our conversation was ended as other passengers boarded the plane, but we left exchanging emails and well wishes.

It was hard to sleep on the plane, but a fringe benefit of wakefulness was watching prayers at dawn (4:30 am New York time).  The aisles, especially the east side of the plane, were full of Jewish men wearing prayer shawls and phylacteries as the sun found our plane, about 4:30 am New York time.  Very neat to watch, but I didn't know whether it would be appropriate to pull out a camera.  Or whether I could reach the camera under the tangle of pillows and sleeping bodies.--Jill

Our flight was originally scheduled for 8:30 pm,  but was delayed till 10:00 pm. We had to wait on the plane for some passengers that weren't there yet... so by the time we started actually taxiing it was like 11:40. And even THEN we had to wait for the runway to clear up.
They didn't serve dinner till like 2 in the morning because of the turbulence. :P
Sorry there aren't any pictures: we were all too busy trying to sleep (and failing)

-Carrie

Tel Aviv (Ben Gurion)

Elizabeth Schade (8), Mary Stratford (10), and Amanda ready to go

Chillin' at the Tel Aviv airport

Elizabeth Schade and her brother David (7)
(sorry I couldn't figure out how to rotate it)

Brother Stratford (with the car seat), and Brother Schade with his son Adam (11).

Linda Stratford (5) and her brother Joe (1 1/2)

Emily

And.... Emily

Amanda and her pillow pet

Bus ride to the Jerusalem Center

We were delighted to see Eran's daughter Hadas at the airport, as she is good friends with both Lisa and Carrie as well as very kind to all our girls.  Hadas (Hebrew version of Esther) helped us make beds and roll suitcases around when we arrived.  Our Jerusalem cousins have two boys around Lisa's age, but she pals around with Elizabeth Schade and Mary Stratford.  Amanda and Emily have made friends with Linda and Abbie Stratford, as well as meeting new kids from the branch at church on Saturday.  Megan and Carrie got reaquainted with Emily Williams and Cambree Oliver. --Jill

 Me and Elizabeth were bus buddies in the back! ^.^ Why did no one get a picture of it...? --Carrie

Hadas Hayet (11) and Lisa

Adam

Isaac and David

Our new Apartment

Our apartment is soooo wide! It's so amazing how much space we have as opposed to last time. It's actually worth walking up 8 flights of stairs whenever you want to go somewhere. --Carrie

Amanda and Emily's room

Kid's bathroom

Amanda and Emily in Living area

View of main room from kitchen
(eek! Look how big! :)

Dining area

Oh look, it's me. This is the work area right before the hallway

Mine and Lisa's room
(small, but excellent view)

Megan's room (yes, she gets her own :P)

Master  bathroom

Trip to Seven Arches


After lunch we took our families to the Seven Arches overlook, where photos just can't do justice to the majesty of the view.  We looked down at the Jewish headstones with memorial rocks stacked on top, across the Kidron, then up the other side to the Palestinian cemetaries, the majestic walls, the huge Dome of the Rock on the huger Temple Mount/Haram es-Sharif, the tangle of archeology and steep roads and living places and livelihoods and contested real estate and holy places.  Frank talked to the kids a little bit, and we all strained to see the Dead Sea through the afternoon haze.  --Jill

Mary and Lisa

Elizabeth, Amanda, David, and Isaac

Linda, Elizabeth, and Amanda

Jewish graves on the mount of olives

To the right

To the left

Dad explaining stuffs

Windy day

Schades (well, some of them)

Stratfords
(Abby (3), is farthest to the left)

Yours Truly, the Judd Fam! 

Oh, my

Yeaaaah.. that's my sister

Birds

Wanna kiss?

Our little gang

Random cat under a car

David right before he broke the case off the camera
(caught in the act mwahahaha}:-)
Look at his guilty little face

Dome of the Rock

I attempted to take a picture of the Dome but the camel got in the way

I love Jerusalem. *sigh* It's good to be back.

Then we said goodbye to the camel then drove to the overlook just north of the center. --Jill

Smoke in the city

:)

Signs are written in
Hebrew
Arabic
then English

The tunnel to Jericho cuts right thru the Mount of Olives

 There we recalled some of Jesus' and Nephi's experiences in the desert.  The kids were happy throwing gravel over the side of the hill and just being kids.  --Jill

Other side of the tunnel to Jericho

The Judean Wilderness

Beautiful sky

Sun behind a tree

My pal Elizabeth
"Acorn!"

Joe picking up rocks

My beautiful sister Lisa

The Greatest Enemy of the Judd clan:

What more is there to say?

California Dreamin'

After a day in Las Vegas with the Craigs, we headed down to Newport Beach, California, to spend a few days with our friends Joe and Marilyn Bentley.  Joe is a retired lawyer and excellent blogger.(Click here for a link.)  Marilyn is an amazing pianist and talented painter.  The Bentleys had served as the Hosting and Humanitarian service couple in Jerusalem, and they were kind enough to host us as we caught a glimpse of the Pacific ocean.  We enjoyed the beaches, cool temperatures, and gracious hospitality immensely.

We visited Balboa Island and Little Corona Beach. At Balboa Island we spotted a group of dolphins and watched para-sailers gliding behind a speedboat.

Little Corona has some tide pools and rocky outcroppings. 

Look at the interesting creatures we found in this tide pool!

 On Thursday we drove north to Malibu to see the Getty Villa, a reconstruction of a Roman Villa destroyed by Mount Vesuvius. 

The kids' exploration room at the Getty Villa featured pots with dry-erase surfaces which the kids could customize. 

Here Lisa and Amanda pose with props to make their own tableau. 

We also got a glimpse of the Los Angeles temple, and a dose of reality while spending 4 hours in Southern California traffic.  Just days earlier, the 70 degree weather and beautiful vistas had caused some in our family to bemoan Brigham Young's decision to go to the Rocky Mountains instead of the California coast.  Our L.A. driving experience reminded us of all of the advantages of Utah and had us singing Brigham Young's praises once again.

 Enroute to Orem we saw plumes of smoke from one of southern Utah's many wildfires.

Happy Easter!  We hope you all had a peaceful holiday and Spring Break!  See if you can guess the four languages pictures above. 

 We had the privilege of seeing some newly-married Jerusalem Center students, Lawrence and Susie Stubbs, as well as many others students and the Muhlestein family, who were our "Jerusalem Cousins."

Amanda hugs Alexia, and below, Emily hangs out with Jacob and Sabrina.

We played with the Muhlesteins at Discovery Park later during spring break, during which we explored the aquarium, the BYU Islamic Art exhibit, and the backs of the girls' closets. 

 Easter Sunday was extra special because Sahar Qumsiyeh spoke at our ward.  You can read about Sahar's story at The Mormon Women Project .

We had a nice Easter dinner with Sahar, Grandpa Fillmore, Mark and Cadence, and Sahar's friend Besan Quffa and her fiance Rob McKell.  Mark and Rob talked about Iceland, and Sahar and Besan told us about the Greek Orthodox Easter celebration of light, where candles lit at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre are brought to the Christian churches in Bethlehem and Ramallah.  Parishoners light their own candles from this flame, which represents the light of Christ, and keep it burning in their homes as long as they can.


After Easter dinner, we celebrated Grandpa Bruce Fillmore's birthday. 

This looks threatening, but it's actually a tradition from Grandma Fillmore's family in which the gift is held over the head of the birthday person until he makes a wish for the giver.  When the gift is a pair of fruit picking poles, it's a little more dangerous!   

 Maybe this was inspired by the BYU museum of art?

P.S.  Jan and Evan correctly identified the Russian egg (think International space station). Thanks to Lisa for the Russian help, Carrie for the Hebrew, and the third non-English egg is Arabic.  All four words have the same meaning.





Emily Busy Learning

A student teacher at Emily's preschool made a portfolio of her learning experiences.  Here are some highlights:

This is a cage Emily built for the animals.

She made a top out of magnets.

She followed the teacher's rhythm with tapping sticks.

Emily made a rainbow with all the right colors.

She petted Miss Jenna's baby chick during "Show and Teach." 

The students worked on writing their first name until Christmas, then they learned their last names.  Sometimes it's good to have a short name! 

They acted out a thunderstorm with a parachute.

From the same unit, here is a drawing she made while listening to a thunderstorm.

Emily got an "A" in recess!

This is Emily's recipe for shish-kebabs.  She was really proud that she could copy the words, and then later remember and read them to me.

We love Emily! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, -- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! -- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

--Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Click here for some Valentines' Day mad-libs for kids.  Or for older people,  click here to make a fill-in-the-blank love poem.

Yesterday in Arabic class we listened to this song by Dalida called Salma ya Salaama, (Safely with safety).  The lyrics say she went out into the big world, then returned when her first love called and found their love still safe. 

To balance out the cosmos, here is a link to Five Hebrew Love Songs by Eric Whitaker.

A poem about my love for the land of Jerusalem:

I came to this land just a short time ago
To walk in thy footsteps and help my faith grow.
New faces and places have quickly grown dear;
It is good for us to be here.

You carried us safely from the land of the Nile
Through deserts we followed thy pillar of fire.
You lead us to mountains, thy glory drew near.
It is good for us to be here.

We sang thy praises wherever we could,
In chapels of stone and in bowers of wood,
In dark shepherd's fields under stars bright and clear.
It is good for us to be here.

As dew from heaven, thy grace makes me whole.
Thy living word like a spring feeds my soul.
Thy voice calms my heart when the storm clouds appear.
It is good for us to be here.

When my path through the valley is rocky and steep.
You seek me and cradle me like a lost sheep.
You were crushed for my sins in Gethsemane,
And your love still rescues me.

Now my pilgrimage comes to an end,
In the land of my brother, my Savior, my friend.
Throughout every season and each passing year
In my heart, I will always be here.