It’s over. Thank Gd. And at the same time, I know it’s just begun. It’s hard, with the fear of the birth looming over your head, to think about too much else. And so, I was hoping that when I got to the other side of that fear and that reality, that I’d have a… Read More Learning Through the Fear

Many things about this pregnancy and eventual (Gd willing!) birth have made me feel like I’ve come full circle. Most of these thoughts will be shared after the baby is born. There is one, however, that struck me recently and that I wanted to share. When we first arrived in Israel 6 years ago, I… Read More Coming Full Circle

Someone said to me recently, “I can’t believe you are having your sixth kid!” And it made me stop to think for a minute as well. Wow – that’s a lot of children. It’s a lot of seats at the dinner table (or at a restaurant). It’s a lot of laundry to do each day,… Read More Raising Little Individuals

Each year, the third grade kids at Matan and Yehuda’s school are tasked with creating their own Tevat Noach, or Noah’s Arks. They bring them to school and have a competition to see who has made the most authentic, creative version of the Ark. When I first saw the notice for this event, I took… Read More The Parsha in Action

We had a great time at Eliav’s birthday party yesterday in his Gan (nursery school). At the same time, neither Josh nor I seems to be able to get away from the memories that this particular class brings to us. Eliav is in the same classroom this year that Yehuda was in when he was… Read More May He Continue to Grow

We all get set in our ways at times, and my kids’ nursery school teachers are no exception. At the beginning of the year, they won’t hear of having a birthday party before the class has settled in. Eliav was born two days after Rosh Hashanah, which means that his birthday is right at the… Read More It’s the Small Victories that Really Matter

We really want for very little in our lives in Israel. We have virtually all of the same luxuries that we had in America, and we don’t pine away for anything in particular. Or so I thought…. Two new items have come into our lives that have really made an enormous difference. Fortunately, one is… Read More The Giggling Washing Machine and the Car from Heaven

As so often happens, it’s time for school to start, and I find myself looking back with nostalgia over the summer. Don’t get me wrong – I’m also breathing about the biggest sigh of relief you’ve ever heard; but I am doing so with some fond memories. I’ve been dreading August for about six months,… Read More Nostalgically….Running Like Hell Out of August

As I’ve probably written here before, I love Israeli weddings. There is a completely different atmosphere at an Israeli wedding than there is at most other weddings. They are much more laid-back and incredibly festive. Last night was no exception. We went to a beautiful wedding set in the hills of Gush Etzion. The bride… Read More The Dance of Their Lives

I wouldn’t say that any of my days are particularly calm, while watching five rambunctious boys, but some of them are definitely more calm than others. Monday was not one of those calmer days. It was my mom’s last day in town and we wanted to go out and do something fun. So, I gathered… Read More Bumps in the Road