Making Fun Family Memories!

We had an opportunity recently to take a trip to a nearby country.  

Can you guess where we went?

It was a blast!  

We were thankful to be able to spend some quality time with the kids...

and make fun memories!

Look what M found when he was taking out the trash... 

 Abandoned by their mom, these 4 tiny kitties are drinking milk from a syringe and eating tuna.  

They're so cute!

 They sleep in a box under the carport of our building.  

 But they are not our cats!  We just don't want them to starve to death until they can fend for themselves.  We'll ask around to see if anyone wants a cat, but unfortunately, few people keep cats as pets here.  So, I'm afraid we're rescuing future dumpster cats.   The kids have named them Lucy, Misty, Teddy, and Ash.

Tawjihi party!

One thing I love about our Arab city is the fact that when there is something to celebrate, our friends gladly share their joy, including everyone in their happiness.  We see this in weddings as the wedding parties drive down the street with decorated cars, honking all their horns in celebratory rhythm.  I thought that rhythmic honking was only for wedding parties, until tonight.

Today the highly anticipated Tawjihi results were announced to eager teenagers and their families.  The Tawjihi is the exam given to high school graduates to determine whether or not they will be allowed to enter one of the public universities here.  So imagine everyone's SAT scores being announced at the same time by a text sent to each student's cellphone.  The city literally erupts at once in a huge party, with families celebrating their kids' "Get into college free"card.  The US embassy here thought it necessary to warn Americans in these parts:

“Families throughout the area often celebrate when the results are announced and, for some, the celebration is exuberant,” the embassy statement said.

“Groups of young adults typically drive around in cars blowing horns, sometimes congesting traffic. This is sometimes accompanied by celebratory gunfire,” it added.

We can testify to the truth of this statement as the party began at 8:30pm tonight when the announcements were made, and it is still going strong now, at 2am.  Add to that, occasional fireworks that can be seen and heard all over the city.  (Even now, I can see someone shooting colorful fireworks into the sky down at the souk at the end of our street.)  

My heart goes out to the poor souls who did not test well.  It would be incredibly painful to sit in the midst of such a city-wide party, only to know you were not chosen.  I hear it is sometimes a night of suicides.  Please lift up the unfortunate numbers, that they would find their self-worth in the Father's eyes and know He has a plan for their future as well.

More from my kitchen window...

From the window above our kitchen sink, I have a great view of the traffic on our street and the suuq (shopping area) at the end of our street.  I can watch life in our Middle Eastern town and observe many things.  Here are a few...

Yes, that is a heard of sheep with their shepard crossing our busy midtown street, as they do many days!

After those palm trees they'll take a right at the next road and graze up the hill.

We also have a great seats for parades!

Not a day goes by that we don't see someone sitting on top of a car celebrating something...i.e.  weddings, graduations, special holidays, soccer games.  Hanging out windows is very big here!

From My Kitchen Window

We moved recently to a different apartment in our Middle Eastern city.  One of Mom's favorite things in the new place is the window above the kitchen sink, because we can look out over the street below while we stand there washing dishes (which is OFTEN).  We can watch cars coming and going down the street, see people walking around outside their apartments, and watch the birds outside our windows.  Mom has taken to leaving the camera in the kitchen cabinet so she can snap a picture, now and then, to share with you the world from our kitchen window.

One of Mom's summer highlights would have to be the hummingbird feeder her sweet friend loaned her.  Although we don't have hummingbirds here, we do have the sweetest little Palestinian Sunbirds here.  (Thanks, Yu, for telling me what these are!)

Am I beautiful?  God made me!

They can hover like a hummingbird, but they usually perch to eat.

There's a line at this restaurant!

Am I too late for lunch?

Mom especially likes these iridescent blue and turquoise ones!

You can see her "straw" tongue sticking out.

Pretty Boy!

She looks like she's talking to someone.

Check out Miss Snaggle-Tooth!

Yesterday K lost her first tooth!  Before I could even get her picture snapped, she lost another one!  Here she is.. all grins!  

She's been watching her brothers and sister getting paid the big bucks for those pearly whites for all of her 5 years.  I think that grin says, "Show me the money!" 

One more...

Here are a few pics from M's school program.  It was about healthy living...I think.  All songs and speaking in Arabic, of course!

There was singing...

And dancing.

M with some of his buddies after the show.