When it Rains it Pours

I have always felt aware of the cycles of life - the ebb and flow of events and emotions. In the past few weeks there has been a down-pour of change.

In terms of our family, Yehuda Or has entered a stage of serious "separation anxiety." I am no longer able to give him to a friend for a minute while I go to the bathroom without desperate cries of "Ma! Ma!" He's also been sick for a while with a bad cold/flu thing which has made bed time and our weaning process very difficult. Eli and I just have to keep reminding each other that this is but a phase, and we may as well keep our sense of humor during the more trying stages of parenthood. Fortunately, every time I see Yehuda Or's little face or hear him proudly exclaim "Gluck!" as he points to a clock, I feel so full of love that the bed time drama just doesn't seem like such a big deal. I've started feeling the new little baby in there kicking and rolling around, which is such a wonderful feeling that I can't help but stop what I'm doing and smile every time I feel it. I'm getting so excited to meet this new little person and find out who he or she is.

We spent a Shabbat in Efrat (the Zayit neighborhood) and loved it! We're really excited to finally have found somewhere that seems like the right fit. We're in the midst of apartment hunting while also trying to get someone to take over our lease here in Jerusalem. Zayit seems to have all of the qualities we're looking for in a community: laid back & nice people, plenty of Anglos, religious diversity, and young families in our stage of life. We've met several GREAT couples and close friends of ours just moved there this week. So that's an exciting development...

We also just booked tickets to Denver! I'm missing my parents and home town so much. Tickets in March were SO cheap, so we're going to the Rocky Mountains! Can't wait to see family and friends and enjoy Target and Starbucks.

I'm feeling very blessed right now - the flexibility in our lives is really something to be thankful for. We keep realizing how amazing it is that Eli is his own boss and we can just decide when we want to go to Denver without needing to check in with someone or fear losing a paycheck. With the handy dandy MacBook Pro, Eli will be able to work through our entire vacation! (Yipee.)

Love from Jerusalem!
Leah