Some school pics

Ben & Zaira's wedding...

Here are some photos of the wedding of Benjamin Pastores and Zaira Koishinova held yesterday in Haifa. You can see more photos of the wedding at franco_patria flickr photos...enjoy!

happiest couple on earth

gorgeous wedding cake made by Bernard de Vera

After the cake cutting ceremony, Ben & Zaira decided to give a piece of cake to Zaira's parents...such a sweet gesture!

family shot

with the Schoot family

Birthday breakfast...

It was mommy's birthday last Friday and we started the day with a lovely breakfast and nice company at Mandarin in Merkas. In the evening my daddy made a delicious dinner for us. Happy Birthday again mommy!

Artworks from school...

Here are three pieces of artwork that Enna-Marie made and brought home from Gan during the week of Rosh Hashana.






















Some information about Rosh Hashanah:

On Rosh Hashanah, Jews listen to the shofar (a ram's horn that is the oldest wind instrument) blown during lengthy prayer services, eat holiday meals, and do no work. After repenting for bad deeds through prayers, they symbolically cast off sins through the tashlich ceremony (a ceremony where the Jews walk to flowing water, say a prayer, and symbolically throw their sins into the water).

Rosh Hashanah is both a solemn and happy day. It is a time for introspection, asking for forgiveness, giving forgiveness, resolving to do better, remembering God is King and Judge, and praying for a healthy and happy year to come. Those observing the Jewish New Year are solemn in their repentance, but happy in their confidence that God is merciful and good.

Rosh Hashana activities...

During Rosh Hashana (Jewish new year), the moms decided to have a small picnic at the frontyard of the building where we hold our Rose Garden classes. The next day we brought our kids to a park outside Haifa called Hai Park. This was our first time to visit this huge park which is also a zoo. The kids loved the pony and camel rides (Enna-Marie didn't try it this time, but hopefully next time she'll like to try either a ride on a pony or camel), patting and feeding the rabbits, and seeing all the beautiful animals inside the zoo. Everyone had a great time, though we went home exhausted, but happy. At next visit, we will bring other friends who were not able to join us and perhaps bring daddy Maarten as well. Enjoy the photos...

























at Hai Park/Zoo:

Rose Garden class photos...

Soon our dear Enna-Marie will be graduating from Rose Garden class (that is when she turns three in December), and it was nice that we were able to take a group photo of the children. Here how the photo shooting turned out...

trial one...

trial two...

this time with their mommys

Farewell to Kami

We said goodbye to our friend Kami recently, a mother of two beautiful boys who were also born here in Haifa. We had a short gathering with the moms and later gave our gift to Kami, it is a book with our farewell messages and some photos of memories together in the Holy Land. Dear Kami...all the best to you and family as you tread a new path of service and begin a "new life" as a family.



getting ready for the group picture taking...

oops, where is Selvi?

Meet Kayla Carmel Kersten...

few hours old

less than 2 weeks old

with Mommy May

with Kayla's happy parents