Happy Easter

Happy belated Easter! I've been meaning to blog about Easter, but our week has been busy so I am a little behind. Jordan celebrates the orthodox Easter, according to the Julian calendar, which is May 1st this year, but we celebrated on American Easter since we will be on the US on May 1st. We had a good couple of weeks leading up to Easter, reading the Easter story in the bible, making some crafts, and dying Easter eggs. The boys enjoyed dying and decorating the eggs and were proud of their final products. 

On Easter day, we all had work and school, since it was not a holiday here, and we had a co-worker visiting from out of town, over for dinner and fellowship. I made a hunk of lamb covered with garlic and rosemary in the crock pot (this is the before picture), and it turned out delicious. 

After dinner, the boys opened some Easter candy, activity books, and stickers -  thank you grandpas and grandmas. And then plenty of wrestling with daddy and our friend. The boys have enjoyed having our friend over throughout this week, they have been exhausted at night with all the extra play!

I am so thankful for Jesus's sacrifice on the cross, and for our redemption and salvation. And that our children are learning and one day truly believe and understand Jesus's sacrifice for mankind. In the meantime, enjoy this video of Easter through Caleb's eyes.

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 'The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.' Then they remembered His words. Luke 24:1-8.

Spring Concert

The boys school held their spring concerts throughout last week. Both of our boys concerts were on Thursday, and they were a lot of fun to attend! Both boys did great, and we were especially proud of Caleb because this is the first time that he has ever stayed on stage for a show...and he has been in probably 10 shows over the years. And not only did he stay on stage, he sang, and spoke into the microphone so nicely. Caleb's show was first, he is on the left all the way at the end. 

At the start of all shows, they sing the Jordanian National Anthem and then their school song. Here is part of their school song.

Then they sang an arabic song Mother's Day song and a french song.

Lastly, all the kids got on the microphone and said a special message to their mom. When it was Caleb's turn, this is what he said. It was so sweet and made me happy to hear this is what he appreciates about me.

After the show, we went upstairs with his class and  they showed us the art projects they were working on the past few weeks. Caleb can pick out his name in Arabic and English and he showed us all his work.

He made me a nice colorful coaster for tea.

And made a sign with the word mama in Arabic, out of rice and glue.

And more colorful art. We were so proud of Caleb overcoming his shyness on stage and for his enthusiasm on the day!

Shortly after, it was time for Benjamin's concert. Caleb sat with us and he was really excited to see hi brother sing. While we were waiting, he ran a few laps around the track, and then they came out. Benjamin is second from the left.

All things start with the Jordanian National Anthem, Ashen Malik (Long live the King).

Then they sang a Mother's Day song in English.

And another one in Arabic, and then french.

After the show, there was a project for the kids and their moms. A few other dads came to the show, so Nathan had some guys to hang out with while we crafted. The past few weeks, Benjamin's teacher was asking for recipes, and as a gift, she made a recipe book and gave it to us for Mother's Day. For the craft we decorated the front cover.

 I wanted to give an American recipe, so I gave Pumpkin Squares, that Elizabeth gave to me back in 2006, and they are a hit every time I make them, so I was hoping others can enjoy a piece of America too :).

It was a really fun day and we enjoyed watching the boys and their classes sing the songs.

Happy Middle Eastern Mother's Day!

Happy Middle Eastern Mother's Day! I knew it was sometime soon, but when I looked it up on the internet the other day, I saw a few different dates so I wasn't sure when it was. Kind of silly, I know. So when we dropped off the boys at school today, I learned that today is Mother's Day :). Caleb brought home this sweet craft and Benjamin was singing a sweet Mother's Day song.

 I am so thankful that God chose me to be the mom of our sweet little boys!

Wishing all my family and friends a happy Middle Eastern Mother's Day to you!

Umm Ar-Rasas

Today we visited a site about an hour south of Amman called Um Ar-Rasas, which is still actively being excavated. The site dates back to the end of the 3rd century, and it served as a fortified camp in the Roman period to protect trade caravans from the Arabian Peninsula to Syria.  During the Byzantine and early Islamic period, many churches and chapels were constructed, as were houses and olive presses, that you can still see remnants of today.

And this is a great place to bring two little boys with a lot of energy. on a beautiful day like today. There were lots of trails to run on, rocks to climb, and places to explore.

There were a lot of interesting carvings under the arches. 

Benjamin wanted to take a break to play with his car.

 We saw a lot of big beettles crawling around, ewww.

And then we got to the first main site, the Church of St. Stephen, which was preserved under the white structure. This is one of the four original churches of the village, with amazing mosaics on the floor dating back to 785 AD.

This incredible mosaic on the church's floor is one of the largest discovered in Jordan, only in 1986.

It shows cities that has religious significance in the 8th century AD, and the names of these ancient cities. Written are 27 cities of the Holy Land, 9 cities on the East Bank of the Jordan River and 8 cities on the West Bank, and 10 Egyptian cities north of the Nile Delta.

Then we just walked around and explored some more.

Nathan has such a creative eye, and he took some nice black and white pictures:)

We came across another church with lots of fabric buried in the sand. You can't really see from this picture, but there is a mosaic underneath. We figured they are preserving them until they can be properly protected.

Maybe over the next few years while we are here, these mosaics will be uncovered.

Next we climbed up a hill and had a great view of the area. A shepherd was tending his sheep down below.

Benjamin sang baa baa black sheep to them :)

Caleb running down the trail.  The boys were really good hikers today.

And on the way out we saw three bedouin boys riding their donkeys.

We ended the day with a picnic outside the visitors center of peanut butter and jelly and pretzels, and got some drinks at the store as a treat.

We took a different drive home, and went through Madaba.

We love coming to this city too, but today was just to drive through.

It was a fun way to spend half of a day, and we will definitely be coming back again to enjoy being outdoors! Happy Friday :).