Bean-worthy

One way we prepared for Pearl's trip to Israel was by reading the passages from the Bible connected to the places she would see.  Through this study she discovered that her favorite Bible passage is Matthew 5:1-12, the beatitudes.

When we got to the beatitudes she paused, blown away by its message and beauty. She spent a long time thinking about it.

Last week I was thrilled to hear that she had an opportunity to lead the tour group's devotions while they were actually at the Mount of Beatitudes. Here she is reading the scripture aloud right where those verses were first spoken.

Their first stint was in the northern area around Galilee, and Pearl and her daddy were able to walk down to the Sea of Galilee from their hotel each night for an evening wade. They ate fish from the Sea and toured the area before heading into Jordan. They were a little nervous about leaving Israel, but their first night in Jordan was glamorous. Instead of telling me about the sights, they spent our Skype time telling me about the fantastic food and desserts the hotel had.

Today they woke early to drive the three hours to see Petra. This was the day I was most excited about.  In case you fear we overlooked it, we did watch Indiana Jones, The Last Crusade in preparation for the grand stone cut facade of the Petra temple. A woman on the trip is posting short blog entries and lots of pictures of my daughter.

Meanwhile, back here in PA, the little girls have been working to earn their way to the Hands on House in Lancaster. This requires bean-worthy behavior, which, I have to say, had been a little sparse up until today.

Whenever they do a particularly loving sisterly act, they get a bean. This has resulted in some sweet moments, so maybe they are learning. You can see the little sisterly love adding up in those pint jars. Oh for it to run over!

Today Ruby requested a 'stay in our jammies' day. This is probably the only day we'll be home during this fortnight of family separation. Tomorrow we are going to see "Little Red Riding Hood" performed on my campus stage.

Congratulations for finishing. You earned a bean!

The Journey Begins, Israel 2014

Pearl and her daddy began their journey to Israel Monday morning. They will be gone for seventeen days. I was told that Pearl was brave throughout the journey, though she only slept forty minutes on the plane. When she woke up the first morning, she did not remember she was in Israel and was very confused.

That first day they saw Jaffa, the port city that is called Joppa in the Bible. The group is pleased that they have a very knowledgeable tour guide.

I was proud to receive this note from one of the women from our church on the trip: "'Pearl' is an absolute delight to be with!  She makes the trip even better.  Seeing her this morning is one of the things I'm looking forward to." I have always thought so, but it is nice to hear from someone else!

And we have soldiered on in our busy week here too. The little girls are looking forward to the seeing all the teenagers who will be babysitting them.

Yesterday we had our co-op, and I taught my class of girls about colonial writing and postal history. We used the quill pens that I have reused time and again and the black walnut ink we boiled down in November. The new sealing wax I had ordered was a hit too. Each girl had to go to the 'tavern' to see if any emigrants had brought her a letter from the old country. This was before Ben Franklin revolutionized the American postal system, of course. Pearl had helped me to write and seal all the letters before she left.

One of my fondest dreams: daughters reading to each other.

The little girls admit to missing their daddy and big sister when I ask, but otherwise they are powering ahead through days of play.

That Princess Poise

Those samplers from last week were quite a hit. We had a friend from co-op over, and the girls spent the afternoon stitching. Here is the result. By the end they were threading and tying their own knots, which was a relief.




The girls are in princess mode today, because their daddy is taking them to the library to for a viewing of Frozen. This is a big event. All little girls seem to love the movie.


And we have been making plans for other things as well. Pearl and her daddy have a pile of bags ready to go for the Israel trip. I've been trying to prepare the house, and myself, for two weeks with two tenacious toddlers (well, they can act like toddlers when they are left to themselves).

I also just learned that my editor wants me to go through all the photographs for the book, caption them and place them in the text, in the next week. We'll see how we do!

Stitchin' Samplers

 
Pearl is getting ready for a big trip, and that means packing and preparation. We came home from our sneaker-buying outing to find that Sapphire and her daddy had been hard at work crafting a creative pinewood derby entry for Awana. Can you tell what favorite frozen treat inspired them?

Today I took the girls to our co-op. I had been excited to teach Pearl's class about samplers, and, from the comments I overheard as they were stitching, I think they loved it. Many of the girls had never stitched a thing before, and my helpers and I had plenty of re-threading and helping to do.

fter lunch, our co-op headed into York to see the York Heritage Trust museums. The kids enjoyed seeing a Conestoga wagon, a York city trolley, and a working sawmill. I was relieved once Sapphire had moved past all those working parts.

Then we toured the Gates House and the Golden Plough Tavern, both from the mid-eighteenth century. This was the perfect field trip for our Colonial Crafts class, and the girls got a kick out of just about everything. They saw a candle dipping machine and practiced being an excitable, fairly inefficient fire brigade.

Pearl has been reading many audio books with the help of the Kindle. Choosing books for her is especially tricky, but I suppose I only have myself to blame. Recently, when I selected A Little Princess, she refused to listen to more than a minute of this perfectly interesting book. When I asked her why she wouldn't give it a chance, she told me, "The reader does not have a British accent." This requirement knocks out a good many of the audio books we have available! We have had better luck with How to Train Your Dragon, A Horse and His Boy, Robin Hood, and The Book of Three.

Clinic Visit

Ruby had her appointment at the Cleft Palate Clinic this week. They all agree she is looking good, and we were pleased to learn she had full hearing in both ears following her tube surgery last November. I'm glad that miserable morning with an inconsolable child was worth it!

They are pretty vague about her next surgery, but it will happen sometime between ages 7 and 11.

Earlier in the week we celebrated the first quarter birthdays, which all belong to my sister's family.
There was drama when Ruby did not realize how quick she had to be to help her big sisters blow out the candles.

Nana with her youngest and oldest grandaughter

Pearl's school this week has included learning how to do satin stitch, practicing her typing, listening to the audio of a Robin Hood legend, and caring for newborns. And that is just the sneaky school we tricked her into doing for fun.