Giant Menorah; New Design

Once again, my husband had a great idea concerning a project he set out to do. I have to say, I'm so glad to be able to see his talent and creativity at work. He worked in quick manner, as he had a clear idea of a design for a new menorah. I enjoyed helping him, though I did very little. Here is a couple of photos of both the process and finished project. By the way, the menorah is now the property of a local congregation; we were glad to hear they liked it.

A Joyous Sukkot

Here are some photographs of our Sukkot celebration. We are truly enjoying ourselves and I hope you all are too.

                                                          Our Sukkah

Abby in the Sukkah

Fixing our bench 

Baby looking around

Our candle to keep mosquitoes out

Top view of candle

Seth and Judith

Matthew joins in

Working on some decorations

Abby making fruit decorations

Here they are

Magen David

Our kids bring pecans from our tree

Seth's big smile

Having a good time

Reaching for fruit

Hanging fruit baskets

Our light fixture

Paintings on canvas our kids made last year for our Sukkah

Hiding behind our curtains

Chavah

Playing around

We have a few more days to go, and memories to share. Chag Sukkot Sameach!

Home School, Hebrew Class & More

Today’s homeschooling went rather well I think. Early in the morning my thirteen-year-old and I worked on his Hebrew and Aleph-Bet studies and made good progress. First of all, I prepared breakfast for the both of us. Everyone else was still sleeping with the exception of one of his brothers (my early bird). This was a good thing, since he had all my attention and no distractions. He was actually reading and understanding the story Yesh Lanu Llama a Hebrew story book we bought for my older kids some years ago. About a week ago, He took a day to learn all the letters of the Aleph-Bet. Today, we worked on combining the sounds and actually reading a few short paragraphs. We were both so happy to see what a little effort in study can accomplish. For anyone wishing or better yet, planning to study conversational Hebrew; I highly recommend using the lesson books Hebrew & Heritage Modern Language 1-4 published by Behrman House. I used them with my older children and found them to be an excellent course for the subject. 

later in the day, after my kids had finished with their regular schooling, I worked with my other son on a project he'd been anxiously waiting to work on. Except for loosening a few screws, I mostly watched as my son took apart an old computer monitor. You see, I love books. So, one day when I stopped by a store on my way home, we found a really neat book. 

We had a few old computers that we needed to get rid off, so, voila! Here's how it all went.

   

       And lastly, the final product is seen here.

Channukah, 8 Days Remembered

1ST DAY

The very first day of Channukah was without a doubt the most memorable. The L-rd, Blessed be His Name, answered the prayer of our hearts. My sister's husband, a sweet, godly man underwent a vital surgical procedure. Not long ago his health was suffering from several issues that  required immediate and dangerous treatments. I'm glad to say that by Hashem's loving kindness, and mercy, he underwent a successful kidney transplant, and is quickly recovering. We feel so blessed that my 18yr.old nephew with the greatest love and honor for his father, made the decision to be the donor.
We also lit our menorah together with my other brother-in-law, and my sister via skype.

2ND DAY
We completed the project worked on for the past few weeks. Together with my husband, we designed and made a giant menorah.

3RD DAY
Made a trip to San Antonio, to visit the congregation Shearit Yisrael for their Channukah celebration. We were happy to see family there, especially my nephew Caleb whom was recovering from the procedure of donating an organ.

                                                My nephew Caleb and my daughter Chava 

Caleb

                                                     Shearit Yisrael

                                              Preparing to light the menorah

4TH DAY
Went to Shabbat Service @ Zion. We were so blessed to be at the Shabbat Service and fellowship with others there.

5TH DAY
Made yummy latkes for breakfast. Went to Zion's Channukah celebration in the evening. The kids had an amazing time and really enjoyed themselves.

Singing @ Zion

Kids Playing with Dreidels

Matthew with his gelt

Everyone's Channukias

6TH DAY

Celebrated Channukah at home and had a talent show. Not only did we have lovely music, but we shared many laughs that night and had a truly memorable time as a family.

Reading from my siddur

Playing and Laughing Together

Pretending to be asleep

7TH DAY
Worked on project with the kids. We got the art supplies out and had a blast painting plates with Channukah designs. All I had to do is send one of my kids to get the paints out; and before I knew it, everyone was gathered around the table painting. Everyone at our house loves painting. =)

Chava's Creation

8TH DAY
We had our last celebration at home; lit the candles (tea light candles), sang, and read from my siddur. We made hot fudge sundaes and nachos. As an old tradition of our family, my husband gave each one of the kids a flash light which they enjoyed playing with, till late at night.

Tea lights we used when we ran out of the other candles

My Siddur

The kids get their flashlights

Waving the lights around

Playing outside