big house overnighter February 19, 2010

on wednesday night we went into Jerusalem to go to The Big House (on the Mt. of Olives) and do the overnight prayer watch.  this place has 24/7 prayer going on every day of the year and we went and volunteered our time so that the staff could sleep through the night. (which i hear is a pretty novel idea to them)

jerusalem’s newest outdoor mall at night

i have been practicing taking candid portraits lately, thus you may see more in this post

megan

i believe this was at 3am

we got kinda tired at this point, and so went out onto the balcony and danced and ran around

morning after, in a garden near where Jesus was buried

emily, in more candid portraits

a flower in that same garden

i’m trying to make up for my lack of photos of naomi

overall it was a wonderful, very long day in jerusalem.  full of praying, and walking, instant coffee (for other people), earl grey tea (for me) and building into our relationships with each other.

birthday events February 18, 2010

this year’s birthday was unlike all the ones before it in that i celebrated it here in Israel.  however it was also closely connected to many of the ones of the past in that all the decorations were red, and/or hearts.  it was a wonderful day, and a hilarious party!

i must say that the best part of my day was when i came to the table, found my name-card, and at the same time found that somehow my amazing, Wonderful, AWESOME! father had somehow sent me roses.  this is something he has done for many many years (the number of flowers equaling the age i am turning) however i did not think that it was going to be possible…

but.

he must be a miracle-worker,

or something.

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(love you daddy!)

everyone was invited by this hanging on the board

the wonderful writing that made me cry; they were happy tears

anne, layne, and leah are quite the decorators

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ps – i really don’t think that i am old enough to be 19…

a clarification February 16, 2010

i feel the need to make a clarification for one of the points of my last post; i have no desire to meet the jonas brothers in the coming year.

that was most definitely a big joke.

HUGE

really huge

.

okay, mumma?

are you now satisfied that you raised this girl up right???

LOVE YOU!!!

birthday dreams February 15, 2010

these are dreams and goals i thought up early this morning that i want to focus on and achieve in this birthday year of dreaming…

~~~

Witness a miracle.

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Hug someone every day.

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Write essays for fun.

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Learn how to cook some really good chicken.

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Be caught taking a stolen glance.

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Find myself in an awkward silence.

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Have an increased sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.

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Dance under a streetlight in Europe.

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Resolve conflict, not just agree to disagree.

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Meet the jonas brothers.

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Learn more French.

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Take 3 photos that I am truly proud of.

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Be more obvious about how much I love all my family.

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Search out and pray into what college could look like in my future.

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Not wear makeup.

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Read more deep and intelligent books.

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Pack lighter.

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See a double shooting star.

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Ride in a rickshaw.

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LOVE more deeply and with less caution.

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Get a haircut I really like.

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Continue blogging.

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Memorize the book of Philippians.

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Wear a skirt at least once a week.

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Dream.

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Change something in the world.

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Listen to unkown artists.

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Drink a whole cappacino.

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Make every moment an adventure.

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Host parties.

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Be fair trade aware.

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Get the cracks out of my heals.

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Every action infused with passion.

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Learn something new every day, and keep a record.

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Cultivate creativity.

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Drink more water.

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Be more than a ball of positive energy bouncing around the world.

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lately February 14, 2010

one week ago i got on a bus in cairo and went on a 16 hour journey to bethlehem.  this past week has been filled with bible reading, walking, cooking our own food(!!!), and traveling around to different sites.  so far we have visited…

church of the nativity

solomon’s pools

shepherd’s field

cremisan monastery

jerusalem

old city

rampart’s walk

wailing wall

david’s tower

jericho

healed springs

&

dead sea.

often when at these places it feels very surreal.  the connection of physically being in a place that holds so much history is a hard one to make in my head.

God’s presence richly fills this land despite the walls, separation, and conflict.  it is a beautiful thing to witness.

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a few photos from jerusalem day…

2010 vancouver olympics February 14, 2010

this girl, is so canadian

just wanted to make sure that you all knew.

:D

i wore these mitts, this toque, and my olympic shirt all day long

i even got them excited

so there you have it

the truth is out,

i LOVE my country

GO CANADA!

Camels! and some old stuff February 6, 2010

the largest camel market in the middle east

mucho, mucho camels

the markings on the camels are the signs of their new owners

some guy’s job is to hit the camels with sticks in order to keep them in front of the bidders

the stick was turned…

trucks just waiting for their new camels

that be a pyramid

my chosen face

kinda missed the pyramid in this one

people found some camels to ride in the desert

and they found horses (cambria’s fell over and tried to roll on her)

le sphynix, i did not pay the extra fee to get closer

my home here in cairo is in the building the mcdonals sign is on top of

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so there it is, a day in the life of this egyptian princess

or something

LOVE!