Winter Months in Pictures (Part 2)

While we were gone the snow came. I'd like to claim the above snowy creation as my own, but it was some random stranger's house that we drive past on the way to Garrett's preschool. We couldn't resist taking a picture with him and Snow Goliath to show you the scale of the winter giant.

Also, back when we were in Oregon . . . let me just say that my youngest sister's family is Oregon Ducks fanatics. The middle sister's family bleeds Washington Husky purple but that's a different story. At any rate the strong sports allegiances have been fostered on their spawn. Garrett's Eugene cousins root for the UO like its religion. Thus the fact that we were able to convince Colby to pose in this below picture (so that the older brother could irritate his little sister) is almost miraculous:


Of course to make sure my sister didn't throw us out on the street we also took this photo:


Well, upon our return Christmas descended with a vengeance. I'm speaking of the special events and ministry obligations not the actual holiday. There was caroling and parties and church outreaches and even a Nativity play where Lori & I had to play the parts of Mary and Joseph. This necessitated my growing of a beard. Neat. Here's the Biblical couple.


And then we had the opportunity to take Garrett on a short train ride in nearby Heber City. Garrett has always wanted to ride a train and this was called the North Pole Express. Some of our friends watched Matthew (we didn't think he'd appreciate the experience longer than 10 minutes) and we enjoyed a fun afternoon. Garrett loved it, but you can read more about that here on my wife's blog.

Winter Months in pictures (part 1)

Since it was just before Halloween since my last update any sort of summation of happenings around here could get quite wordy. Thus, I am going to give a bullet point synopsis of the last few months accompanied with pictures.


Halloween came and went. Our boys assumed their Ninja turtle and giraffe alter egos in order to take in a haul of candy. We closed out the night at our church Harvest Festival where there was lots of festivity, games, and fun.


In early November we were visited by Lori's parents. The boys enjoyed there time with their grandparents including a trip up to the Airplane museum in Ogden.

We also went Ice Skating one night. Here's Lori and Matthew trying out their skills.


Then at Thanksgiving we made the trek up to Oregon to spend the holiday with my parents. This gave the urchins a chance to hang out with their Oregon cousins:

It was a good time for family. We took a our kids and a couple others to see Tangled. Lori and I watched the U of O Ducks defeat Arizona and even enjoyed a day off just by ourselves. Of course the boys got plenty of grandma and grandpa time as well.

Of pumpkins and swallowed prophets

Last night was the start of the annual privilege that i have to carve/decorate my childrens' pumpkins. Truthfully, Matthew isn't that particular yet. Garrett, however, loves to be consulted on every detail. Last year he wanted a monkey pumpkin. This year we decided on a giant fish pumpkin, complete with the prophet Jonah inside.

Garrett refers to the giant fish as a big shark. Since the Bible isn't specific to what the great fish actually was it sounds good to me. The part of Jonah is played by a miniature pumpkin.

Garrett helped me scrape out the pumpkin guts while I did all of the cutting. Matthew stood nearby for most of the adventure realizing something fun was happening, but uncertain to what exactly it was that was fun, exactly.

At the end of the evening we had a pumpkin rendition of the book of Jonah. Tomorrow, we have one more pumpkin to decorate. No ideas how that will turn out yet.

Play Ball

About a month ago, Garrett and I had the chance to attend a baseball game for our local minor league team. The Salt Lake City Bees are the AAA affiliate of the Anaheim Angels. We only stayed for half the game, but it was much more enjoyable than the last time we went two summers ago. This time, Garrett actually watched a little of the game. Of course he was still more excited by the play area and the fire truck on display outside the front entrance. And of course, he was most excited in the third inning when we bought ice cream scooped into a little plastic Bees batting helmet--I'm sure that was his favorite part.




The only negative part was early in the game when a line drive was hit into the stands below where we were sitting on the third base side. The ball struck a I'm guessing two year old boy in the head who was sitting on his father's lap. The father tried to dodge the ball and shield his son with his hands but the ball hit right between the man's arms. Luckily, the child was screaming and not hanging like a limp doll. The father and the son left immediately--I'm certain for medical attention. There was no blood or unconsciousness but it looked pretty ugly. I felt really badly for that father who was trying to enjoy the evening with his slightly younger son the same way I was enjoying my evening with mine. At least the batting coach for the opposing team, showed concern before the man darted off and the people around him made sure that the sad twosome were in possession of the ball that the toddler had earned so painfully.

So we left around the end of the sixth inning. It was already well past Garrett's bed time and we had already seen some good run scoring including several home runs. We (I) was excited to see, in the morning paper, that the Bees did indeed hang on for the win.


I wonder if Garrett will end up playing baseball. He really wanted to play T-Ball this last year, having watched me play in my summer softball league. Of course if I ask him what sport he wants to play when he gets older the answer always changes. Today the answer was "everything." I pressed harder and he said, "basketball, and ski, and in the ice place, and football, and hockey, and just everything."

Matthew, on the other hand, I think will like baseball. He likes carrying around the toy bat and throwing the ball around. Then again he's quite the little scrapper. He could be a wrestler, or running back, or try and talk his mom into letting him enlist in MMA.

Last of Ladybug

Ladybug is now back in my son's possession. I'm at home and happy to be back with my family. Nevertheless I've got a few more pictures to post of ladybug's adventures in Israel taken on the last day. Here goes:

Here are ladybug and I at the Valley of Elah (think David & Goliath)


& Here are ladybug and myself at the farewell dinner in Abu Gosh:

Well that's the end of the Ladybug's adventures in Israel. I might add a couple of pictoral posts in the next few days that are aimed more at the trip and sites than at the plastic insect. At any rate, these pictures at my son's request added a degree of fun to the trip.

Back in the USA

I am now sitting in JFK. After an eleven hour flight on El Al from Israel, I am back on American soil. It's good to be (almost) home. I can't wait to see my wife and boys tonight. Still in the interest of completing the online documenting of this journey I have a few more pictures to post.

I'll add those pictures later as the necessary connection cord between my computer and camera is in my checked luggage. In the meantime here's one more picture (above) of me on the southern steps or the temple. It's a pretty cool place. These are the original 1st century steps (the ones I'm sitting on not the restored ones). These are the steps that Jesus would have walked up on his way up to clearing the temple of the moneychangers. Maybe the lame man that Peter and John healed used to lay here. Today, (that day) I get to share the space with ladybug.

Tonight, thankfully, I get to share my time with my family.

Day in Pictures

OK, this is probably the last day I'll be updating before we return. I'll throw a few additional pictures up on the page when I get home.

We spent the day in Jerusalem. We visited St Anne's and the Pool of Bethesda and then went to the lithostrathe, a place inside what was at one time the Antonia Fortress. Following that we embarked on the Via Delarosa (way of the cross). However, when the road divided we headed out to Gordon's Calvary (Garden tomb) instead of the traditional Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Here I am at the empty tomb at Gordon's Calvary:

Of course garden's are a good place for ladybugs:

Here's another view of Jerusalem. This was taken from Mt. Zion and the possible location of Caiaphas's house. Interesting development while we at the overlook. I'll tell you more about that in a later post.
Here is a statue outside the possible location of Caiaphas' house (Gallicantu meaning in latin "Rooster Crows). Notice that Ladybug wanted to join the scene. He was motivated by my wife's college statue misdeeds. That's a story for another time:

Here's a close up:

Later we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre:

We saw the holy sites to conclude the day. Ladybug & I made a special appearance at the 1st century tombs in the Syrian Chapel located immediatly behind the rotunda where the traditional tomb of Christ is found

So that's the day in pictures. One more day to go then I get to see my family. Pray for safety, I'm looking forward to seeing them.

Dead Sea

Today we left Jerusalem to head out to the Dead Sea and surrounding area. First we went to Masada. My dad, myself, and another couple from our tour group took the snake path up to the top while the rest of the group went up on the tram I made the trip in somewhere between 25-27 minutes. It was a pretty good time. I wasn't in quite as good of shape as last time so I was a couple minutes slower.

After Masada, we went to an overlook of En Gedi and then headed over to float in the Dead Sea and to rub mineral mud over ourselves.
Afterwards we came back to Jerusalem and returned to our hotel a little earlier than usual. It was good for our group as I think they need a little break lest they succumb to tour and information overload.

Now again, its time for pictures of ladybugs daily adventures.

Here is ladybug on Masada. In the background behind bug is the ruins of Herod's palace.

Here is ladybug at the overlook at En Gedi:

Here I am with Ladybug at the Dead Sea. I am coated in the mineral mud. Think of a full body facial. It's supposed to be good for your skin. If nothing else it makes me look a little silly.

More Ladybug

So today I continued my journey through Terra Sancta. Ladybug and I visited the Western Wall, the ancient temple steps and the Shrine of the Book. I also went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial, but I really didn't feel it was an appropriate place to take Ladybug pictures. Here, are a couple more pictures of the day in more detail.

My dad and I just outside the Western Wall:

Here is ladybug meeting with a friend in the Western Tunnels.

Back to the Wall

I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Psalm 116:1

There are those moments in life when God's mercy and goodness is evident. Five years ago, Lori and I went to Israel together. Many of the pictures I've been posting are sites we visited together. One such place was the Western Wall. . .

A tradition at the wall is to leave pieces of paper in the cracks of the wall that bear written prayers. At the time we had no children even though we desparately wanted them. Lori left her prayer deep withing a crack along the wall, somewhere in the tunnel. I dont' need to tell you what her prayer asked for.

Now I certainly don't think the Western Wall has any sort of magical properties. Certainly written prayers placed at this special location do not carry any more weight than those uttered in silence anywhere along the world. Nevertheless, it was a special symbolic action--to leave a prayer in this place regarded as holy--to write something down that we wanted most.

Five years later we have not one, but two sons. As I walked along the wall I could not help but marvel at God's faithfulness and the gentle manner in which he has dealt with us. Certianly there have been painful struggles and trials. But in the end God has given us a family. We are so grateful to Him. In the spirit of Psalm 22: 22, I will declare His name in the congregation I will praise Him and acknowledge His mercies.

So as I walked along the wall today I did so in a spirt of thankfulness, and as I did so I once again left behind a prayer request hidden in the crack of the same ancient wall.

Jerusalem & Bethlehem

Just a few pictures today as I'm really tired and will probabl fall asleep at the computer if I try and type out something.

A view of the old city:



View from the Temple Mount:

Ladybug and I at Bethlehem:

Ladybug overlooking Shepherd's fields at Bethlehem:

Road to Jerusalem

Today we journeyed south from Galilee to Jerusalem. On the way we stopped by several sites. Of course ladybug made a few appearances. At Bet She’an he attacked a model of the tel pretending to devour its imaginary citizens and later visited the city’s ancient restroom. He also pretended to be part of Gideon’s army at Harod, and enjoyed the scenery at the Gan Hashlosha. Of course these places definitely make me miss Lori. Not that I don’t miss her and my boys all the time, however some of these places were special to share with her last trip so when she’s absent this time around its definitely noticeable. At the conclusion of the day we entered Jerusalem. It will certainly be a treat the next few days to be in and around the Holy City. Well that’s the report. Here are some pictures of ladybug’s adventures.

Here's ladybug terrorizing the model of Bet She-an

Ladybug & I are making sure we lap the water from our hands so we can be a part of Gideon's army.

Ladybug at Gan Hashlosha (Sachne)

And here is Ladybug as he arrives in Jerusalem

That's all for now. Talk to you tomorrow.

Up North

Today was spent in the Norther part of Israel & the Golan Heights. Its crazy how tranquil everything was and that we were at the corner of a region so marked by territorial disputes. We started the day touring the Golan, then went to Caesarea Phillipi (Banias), Tel Dan, and concluded the day at Hazor.

Hazor was again particularly meaningful to me as I spent a summer dig there in 2001. I think I might have to have a nostalgic blog about that in the near future.

. . . but for now my co-pilot ladybug would like to update my family in pictoral fashion.

Here is ladybug in the Golan Heights overlooking Syria.


Ladybug is hanging out at Tel Dan Nature Reserve. He very much enjoys the greenery and water

Here I am at Hazor with ladybug.

Well that's it for today. Tomorrow we have more sites to see and will overnight in Jerusalem.

Galilee

Last night we spent the night at a hotel on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. The above picture is the sunset we had the privilege of witnessing before we went to sleep (yes Lori iyou will have to expalin to Garrett that though it is a pine tree and a lake with mountains it isn't taken at Lake Tahoe). Today we spent the day around Galilee. We saw the places where Jesus spent much of his minsitry and did so many miracles. Its always one of the highlights of my trip to be in the Galilee. Many of the places in the Bible are ruins, other traditional sites are covered up by churches, or (perhaps) hidden beneath a modern hotel, drug store, or parking lot. The lake, however, is the same as when Jesus came: beautfiul, blue, and majestic in its silent witness of all the things it saw Jesus do . . .


Here are a few more pictures:



Here is Ladybug on a boat on the Sea of Galilee


And here is Ladybug trying to enjoy some St. Peter's fish. (Talapia caught from the Sea of Galilee).

More to come. . .

This week I'm in Israel. As a result this is going to be a working travel-blog. I'm accompanied on my trip by my assistant ladybug. The toy bug in these pictures is my accompaniment sent by my son Garrett. Garrett wanted me to take him with me (he chose ladybug specifically). Since G was unable to come with me he gets to see Ladybug in all sorts of places to see that we are safe and having a good time. Below are pictures of me with ladybug at the aquaduct at Caesarea and Ladybug on Mt. Carmel overlooking the vally of Jezreel (Armageddon).

Well that's it for now. More to follow.

Thankful

So I realize exactly how long it has been since I've made a blog entry. This last year has been quite the adventure. Problem with adventures is they are so much more fun to read about than to actually experience.

Thankfully, this adventure has come to an end, and by this adventure I mean the long experience we have had with a contested adoption. Today our son, is legally ours. There has been considerable expense, enormous sacrifice on the part of Matthew's birth parents, and miles of anxiety. Today however, we stood in front of a judge and legally adopted Matthew.

I could write a multitude of directions expressing my relief, love, commitement, etc. I could fill this space with stories of my two boys. Instead, I'm going to keep this post brief and just express my thanks to God for His mercy to our family. We realize how His hand was at work in every aspect of this struggle molding us as parents and shaping us as a family. So I want to take the moment to publicly praise God and recognize his providential dealings with the four of us.