Sleepy Combo

Benadryl + 2 glasses of wine

Colds

Korra, Danny, and I all have runny noses and sore throats. Soup for dinner even though it's hot out. 

Senior Art Show

One of my former students invited me to her senior art show (college senior) this evening. Her work was beautiful and powerful. I am so proud of her and honored that she thought to invite me. 

Poem in Your Pocket Day

I've had nearly 50 kids recite poems to me today!

Pedicures

Korra and I painted our toe nails tonight. I'm thinking a mother-daughter pedicure date before our trip to Kauai might be in order. 

Prom

When AL lived with us, she decided she wanted to go to prom only 4 days before the event. At least Danny gave us 10 days. And renting s tux should be easier than buying a dress, right?  

Immigration Court

Court this morning went about as well as we could hope for. They saw us right away, it was quick, and His immigration proceedings have been terminated (so no more court!). Now it's just in the hands of USCIS. They have to approve his permanent residency visa by May 1 or he'll have to wait another 6 years to apply and will have to jump through all the hoops and pay nearly $400 each year to renew his temporary visa. 

Also, we went to get him a state ID and even though we had all the correct paperwork, they denied it and won't tell us why. They just gave us a number to call in 5 business days. I had heard that Georgia was denying legal immigrants drivers licenses and now we're looking to add Danny's name to the lawsuit against the Georgia DMV for discrimination. 

Curfew

I am so tired about arguing about curfew times with a teenage boy who can't wake up in time for school. Especially when we have to leave for immigration court at 6 am tomorrow. God grant me patience, love, wisdom, and rest. 

Haircut

I cut Korra's hair tonight. I forgot how much I like it short like this. 

Educated Voter

While I'm quietly waiting for testing to finish, I decided to research the canidates for our upcoming local election.  I found this site where you can see a sample ballot and then learned that in all 6 elections, the incumbent is running unopposed.  I also learned that in my county you have to pay a $2,600 fee to run for Sheriff.  

Update on Stuff

1) Nobby is still missing. 

2) We have an emergency immigration court hearing on Wednesday because suddenly and for the first time in memory, the cap on visas in Danny's category (special immigrant juvenile) has been reached and even though legally they (not sure which delay at this point) were supposed to decide on Danny's visa within 6 months (and it's been 9), we still might miss the date through no fault of our own. So Wednesday is a last ditch effort to get the visa. The good news is that he's not in danger of being Depo. The bad news is he'll have to renew his temporary work visa every year for the next 6 years until he can apply for permanent residency again. 

3) I still want to move into a tiny house, but I've decided that 200 square feet is too small. I'm thinking 500-800. So not tiny house but rather smallish house. 

Party Puker 2: Return of the Party Puker

Korra vomited at another birthday party. I didn't really know any of the other parents so it was extra embarrassing. Cake plus bouncy house plus a kid who pukes easily... Well, I wouldn't be surprised if we stop getting invitations. 

Tiny Houses

Eating ice cream and watching everything in Netflix about tiny houses. Too bad Nate would never move into a 400 square foot house or I'd already be downsizing. Does a family of 4 really need more than 4 cups?

Immigration Court?

Just so you know, the entire immigration process is totally screwed up.  I can't begin to explain how frustrated I am.  I can't even really explain what's going on, what happens next, or when, which is a big part of why it's so frustrating.  Also, I'd really like to yell and cuss but since I'm at school AND there's testing in the library, I think I'll just eat some chocolate.  

Happy Lists

While I am proctoring standardized test I like to make lists in my head. Today I made a list of things to pack for our trip to Hawaii and a list of fun things to do with Korra this summer. 4 more weeks of school. 

First Sentence

Korra wrote her first sentence all my herself. 

Let me translate. "Nobby is at the forest."

We're all missing our bob-tailed black cat. 

Koo Koo Kanga Roo

Go to YouTube and search "cat party Koo Koo Kanga Roo."  This is Korra's new favorite thing. Also this group is on tour. We might be going. 

Flight Booked

It's official!  We're going to Hawaii in June!  Aloha!

Bouquet

Missing Cat

Nobby, our black bob-tailed cat, has been missing for almost 3 days.

Testing Perks

One of very few perks of proctoring standardized testing: after we were done but still stuck in the room, I got to crochet for half an hour.  Glad I remembered to grab my yarn bag this morning!

Smell

As a little boy, Nate often asked, "what's that smell like?" His mom has told me of his childhood olfactory curiosity several times over the years. In the last few months Korra (who has never heard those stories) has started asking us often, "what's that smell?"  She's not usually asking about stinky things and sometimes it's not even something I can smell. Im guessing a strong sense of smell is genetic (and that she didn't get it from me). 

Muddy

While we ate pizza in the backyard with neighbors, our kids made a mud pit. 

Festival

Danny got first place in his age group in the 5K (wearing untied Sketchers). 

Korra enjoyed dancing to the music groups and getting her face painted. 

Nate and I enjoyed eating delicious food and buying things from vendors (pork rinds for Nate, blueberry bushes for me). 

Super successful festival. Super fun morning. We have the coolest neighborhood. 

Early Saturday

Huge neighborhood festival today with music, arts and crafts, a 5k, and Earth Day activities for kids. So I'm ip extra early for a Saturday to help set up. Should be a fun (though long) day. 

Cold and Wet

Spending my Friday night on a cold metal bleacher watching boys' high school soccer in the rain. And my kid's on the bench. 

Happy Thoughts

1) Burgers with all the fixings for dinner tonight

2) Big Spring Festival in the neighborhood tomorrow (and as of right now it looks like the rain will be done before then)

3) Testing time was much shorter today and I got a big book order finished

Teenage Boy

I can't think about anything to post except that a certain teenage boy makes my day hard. 

Let me try again...

Testing started today and I spent a lot of time trouble shooting computers and on the phone with IT. 

I more than canceled out my Zumba class by eating a sleeve of Thin Mints. 

Also, I cried twice because I don't know what to do about Danny. 

Survivor Music

You know you've watched a lot of Survivor when you can call who is going to win a challenge by the music. Well, that and the fact you have a Survivor fantasy league. 

Phone Charger

A kid has his phone out.  I tell him to put it away.  He has it out again less than a minute later.  I take it and tell him he can have it at the end of the day.  He asks me if I can charge it for him.  Really?

Travel Junkie

I've barely recovered from the jet-lag and I'm already itching to book the flight for our next trip. I think travel, like tattoos, might be addictive. 

Another Bra (less) Question

How obvious do you think it would have to be that I'm not wearing a bra for an administrator to address it with me?  You know, hypothetically... 

Eggplant

Korra's favorite thing to draw lately is eggplants. All 3 year olds are this weird, right?

Korra's Game

Korra: Mommy and Daddy, do you want to play a game?

Me: Sure, Korra. What game?

Korra: It's called Punch the Game. You punch the things that you do with your punchers   You get some flags that you win from. If you don't get any flags you lost the game because everything you have to do is win. If you win you get to go home and turn off the lights because you can't see. Ok. Are you ready to play?

Me: ummmm...

Goddaughter

We're going to meet our goddaughter Dell today!

Back to Work

After 2 weeks off, I'm back at work.  I have a huge To Do list and 90 emails to answer, but it's ok.  Especially since it's Friday.

Israel Recap

This will be a big post.  It's mostly for me so I can remember everything.

Tuesday, March 29th
We arrived at our hotel in Netanya (outside of Tel Aviv) around dinnertime.  Our room had a balcony that overlooked the Mediterranean Sea.

Wednesday, March 30th My 32nd birthday

The first thing saw was Roman aqueducts.

Next we went to Caesarea Martine which was built by King Herod and where he had one of his palaces.  There was a amphitheater there that had amazing acoustics (even if we did have to listen to some 90s praise music from another group).

This is the original mosaic floor of Herod's palace.  Just beyond it is his swimming pool (right next to the sea).

We went to Megiddo where we saw really, really old ruins and got to climb down into a cistern tunnel.  This is one of the many places in Israel where cities were destroyed and other cities built on top of it, over and over.











Lunch was falafels.  I was in heaven.  I ate a LOT of pitas and chickpeas on this trip in various forms.

We then went to Sepphoris which is near Nazereth and is likely a place Joseph and Jesus worked.  It was a rich town and you can tell by the mosaic floors.  Also, we got to walk on the original streets (which included mosaic sidewalks).



















We went to the Church of the Annunciation which is traditionally thought of as Mary's home.  Nate bought fresh squeezed pomegranate juice from a street vendor on the way.

I loved all the paintings and mosaics of Mary from pretty much every country.  These were my favorite.




































We ended the day at the Mount of Precipice which is where they tried to throw Jesus off the cliff.  This was one of my favorite places we visited because the view was absolutely breathtaking.





















At the end of the day we checked into Ein Gev Kibbutz.  It was almost like a little resort on the Sea of Galilee.  Everyone had their own little apartment right on the water.  There was a private beach.  Also, they had amazing showers.  It was gorgeous.  By far my favorite place we stayed.






Thursday, March 31st

We began the day on the Mount of Beatitudes.  While the church was nice, I really enjoyed the short hike we took to the side of the mountain.






We hiked the rest of the way down to Peter's Primacy, where Jesus appeared to the disciples after his resurrection, cooked them a fish breakfast, and asked Peter if he loved him.




I thought it was funny there was this sign for no picnicking and no swimming when Peter did both at this spot.

We ate fish for lunch.  It was really yummy, but I was thankful they had fish fillets since I didn't like that Nate's fish still had eyes.

There are stray cats all over Israel.  Here is a small sampling of photos of Nate petting cats.










We took a short hike at the base of Mount Arbel in the Valley of the Winds.  It was so beautiful.



We saw a first century boat that was found and then took a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee.





Friday, April 1st
We started the day at Hazor (some ruins) and then went to Tel Dan which was gorgeous.  I really loved the more natural places we went like this one.  We spent a lot of time in Israel's national parks.  Tel Dan had ruins like many other places we went but it also had this amazing natural spring that we got to hike around.











 We also found a bunker.  The last thing we saw there was the coolest.  Abraham's Gate- which dates back to around 2000 BCE.



Next we went to Caesarea Philippi which also had cool water features.  Nate really liked seeing these ancient pagan temples including the one to Pan.

We had falafel again for lunch.  I did not mind at all.

We spend some time in the Golan Heights and then got to head back to the Kibbutz early, which allowed us time to wade in the Sea of Galilee and read in a beach chair.



Saturday, April 2nd
We started the date hiking up Mount Arbel.  I love being up high there.  You can see for so far and the landscape is just phenomenal.





We went to the Jordan River where a couple people got baptized and most of the rest of us remembered our baptism.



We had lunch at a Samaritan restaurant (chicken, a rice dish with fried cauliflower in it, salads, soup, and of course hummus!).  It was probably the best lunch we had.  There was also the ruins of an incredible amphitheater just next to the restaurant.



We went to Jacob's well which is one of the few places that is extremely well documented that Jesus went.  So much of Jerusalem and many parts of Israel were destroyed and rebuilt numerous times so it's hard to tell exactly where things took place, but this one is very clear.  We had the opportunity to pull up and drink water from the well.  It was also cool to hear how long it took for water we poured down the well to hit the bottom.







We checked into the Olive Tree Hotel in Jerusalem and then went to a sound and light show at the Tower of David, which was one of my least favorite things.

Sunday, April 3rd Nate's 33rd birthday
We spent the day in Bethlehem.  This is the area where our guide Wisam lives.  He's Palestinian and was able to give us a different perspective than what we usually hear in the US. He's also an artist who has worked with Banksy!  When he found out Nate and I were interested in seeing his 3 pieces in Bethlehem he had a friend drive us to one and then he stopped the bus at the other 2 so Nate and I could get out and take pictures.

We went to worship at the Church of the Annunciation (to the Shepherds) and even though it was all in Arabic, I was still able to catch when we were saying the Lord's Prayer, the Affirmation of Faith, and singing How Great Thou Art.  After church, they played bagpipes and drums and it was so neat!



Lunch was good, but the baklava we had for dessert was the star.  Delicious.

We went to the Church of the Nativity (the site we traditionally think of as were Jesus was born), which I did not like at all.  It's owned by at least 4 groups (Coptic, Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Armenian) and they have this "status quo" agreement where they can't move or touch anything.  It makes it feel crowded and old and a little gaudy.  We also went to the Shepherds' Field.  It had a pretty fountain.



That night we had a model Shabbat dinner.

Monday, April 4th
We started the day at the Temple Mount, where we saw the Dome of the Rock.







We went to the Mount of Olives (some of the trees are over 2000 years old) and walked through the Garden of Gethsemane.



We went to the Teaching Steps and the "traditional" Upper Room.  We also went to the House of Caiaphas which had original steps that Jesus walked down and a beautiful church with these amazing mosaics all over the walls and ceiling.  We also got to go down in the dungeon where Jesus was kept.

At the end of the day we got to go through the Western Wall Tunnel.  That was the coolest part because some of the streets and the bottom of the wall were from the Herodian period.  They were so huge, it's impossible to imagine how they managed to move and stack them.





Tuesday, April 5th
We first went to the Pool of Bethesda and St Anne's church which had incredible acoustics.  It was also a beautiful church, much more beautiful than the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (where Jesus was crucified), which is another one owned by 4 or 5 groups and almost feels like a terrible religious theme park with long lines and crowds everywhere.


This is the slab where they supposedly prepared Jesus's body (but definitely didn't).  Lots of people kissed this rock.

I did like the Crusader's Chapel under it main church.  There were all these crosses carved into the limestone walls made by the Crusaders.  It just shows how your perspective starts to get off when you start to think that that church was "only" 900 years old.





The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was at the end of our walk of the Via Dolorosa which for us was much more interesting because it took us through the Muslim Quarter markets, than for the stations of the cross along the way.

We stopped to peek in at an archaeological dig.  Just about everywhere is an archaeological dig.



Our last stop of our trip was the Garden Tomb which is most definitely not the tomb where Jesus was buried but it's prettier than the Church of the Holy Seplechre and it fits their idea of what a Garden Tomb should look like.

The weather was perfect the entire time.  Sunny and about 75 degrees.  The country is so beautiful.  We were very fortunate to have such a knowledgeable guide.  I am so thankful we had this opportunity.