The Jolliff Family

I remember the day Hunter was born.  I was a freshman in college and attending an IU basketball game.  I heard the news and could hardly wait for the weekend when I could go back home and meet him with his Uncle Hap.  He was the first of many (really a continuation of many) Jolliff grandsons.  Months later, his first Christmas, Hap and I bought him a walker as a way of helping him along so he could be our ring bearer for our upcoming wedding.  And on our wedding day, he looked so cute in his oversized tux playing with the ring pillow on the stage. Fast forward ten years and I won't forget him crying hard and hugging tight on our last night together before we moved overseas.  And Hunter grew and changed in our time overseas but it was always a joy to be back in the states to catch him playing games of baseball or basketball, and most certainly seeing him enjoy the great outdoors when we were at the farm.  I can picture his truck or four wheeler coming u...

 I recognize that it has been a minute since I last took to blogging and the amount of events that have passed over the last months are too numerous to catch up on.  However, I've been thinking about the blog over the past month and the events of last week catapulted my thinking into action to dust off the blog and preserve some thoughts and memories.  And so, here goes as I find it a good place to jump back in as I reflect a little bit on the faithfulness of God. Almost 20 years ago, Hap and I were engaged and registering for all the items that we could as we dreamed about making a marriage and home together.  We registered for towels and bowls and toilet brush cleaners and spent way too much time in Bed Bath and Beyond and Wal-Mart over analyzing everything.  While we registered for (probably) hundreds of items, one thing we didn't register for was a Kitchen Aid stand mixer.  Hap felt like it was too expensive to register for and I thought that it would b...

The twins wanted to pick the wild flowers before the yard was plowed by the mule.  Spring is my all time favorite season in the Middle East.  Wild flowers are blooming everywhere, the almond trees are full of lovely white flowers, and the air is warmer.  It also means you survived the cold winter in your house and that's worth celebrating!! Our turtles are also enjoying the warmer days to get some sunshine.  We even spotted our baby turtle that hatched last fall from an egg.  That was a fun surprise.  

Earlier in the week, the three older boys and I explored the Old city of Jerusalem while Hap attended to some business close by.  It's always a treat to wander through the city streets and it's especially nice before the tourists come back. Church of the Holy Sepulchre Literally and figuratively, many people have come before us and many people will come behind us.  These stairs are a reminder to me of that truth. Then we went to the Garden Tomb We finished our morning buying some goodies and it was a great ending to the morning!  

We did the Rampart's Walk a few weekends ago and really enjoyed getting an up high view of Jerusalem.  The walls are from the Ottoman era and built around the 1530s.  It's pretty amazing to be able to walk on them and to think of all the people and history that has taken place on and around those walls.  It was a fun outing!

 We have had a really busy January and February is gearing up to be the same type of busy.  Here are some phone pictures of our normal days. A mural and a view from a roof top in Jericho. My birthday celebration, after we had already started.

 I took some pictures on my phone that I wanted to keep from our time in the Red Canyon.   This young man is adventurous and funny.  Love this picture of him! I asked Hap why we had not done Eilat and the hiking before now and we realized that we are at such a great age with all the kids to do some serious hiking and exploring.  It's the sweet spot! Proud of this kid for overcoming his fear and climbing up from the bottom!  He doesn't enjoy heights at all but he did it and enjoyed it. Now this is a questionable move.  Abram ended up pretty frightened at a narrow part of the pass and Hap lifted him up and carried him to a wider area.  I was nervous but they had it under control. This is a picture of the border between Israel and Egypt.  It's crazy to see Egyptian soldiers patrolling along the border and realizing just how close everything is in the Middle East. Fun day!  Highly recommend.