Welcome to Oisín, Nevyn & Alexei

Oisin Salim Padilla McLoughlin was born on 24 September in Drogheda, Ireland

such a sweet photo of mommy Corinne & baby Oisin!

Moms' Visit to May & Kayla

Recently a group of moms visited May and her new baby Kayla Carmel at their home. It was the first time to see Kayla for most of us. May shared her experiences in the hospital with us, as well as her first month with Kayla. It seems to be going well and she is enjoying every moment with her. Of course before everyone left, we had a group photo together.

the little ones sitting altogether

Menchie, Katharine & Jasmine, Negeen, Sieni & Tara

two of the newest babies in town Clara & Kayla, & baby G coming soon :-)

& here's everyone!

Visit of Nadimi family...

Our friends Ramin and Cathelijne and their daughter Norah stayed with us during their three-day visit to Haifa and Akko. They have just relocated from the Philippines back to the Netherlands after having lived for a few years in Makati City. We hope you enjoyed your stay, and that you will have a smooth transition back to life in the Netherlands...Below are a few pictures of our days together.

The Kersten's and the Thorne's came for pancake breakfast Saturday morning...

Don't underestimate how difficult it is to get two young children to pose for a simple family picture... This was the best we could do :)

Beautiful family :)

At the Bahji Visitor's Centre

Norah taking a break on her way to the Shrine...

Big sister Enna-Marie taking Norah by the hand...

Playing on the grass...

Recent photos of EM...

reading a book to her baby Sophie

making a craft out of leaves & petal flowers

with Elfida at Melissa's baby shower

playing with Lillian at the baby shower

posing outside our building

wearing blue fingernails

our little fairy with her magic wand..."bibbidi bobbidi boe!"

visit to the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh

playing with Carmel at home

Emily came over too to play with EM (her parents Carmel & Yoni were in the same childbirth preparation class we attended; Emily is just a day older than EM :-))

two happy faces...so nice to get together!

and here she is playing inside her imaginary toy house

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: