Back from Kansas City

Beth and the girls came back today from visiting grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins in Kansas City.  They were there for 10 days while Beth helped her parents pull together a yard sale.  She says that the girls played really well and really hard with their four cousins (her brother Sal and wife Dee's kids), and also with her cousin Angela's (and husband Brian's) two kids - I guess that would make them second cousins, maybe? I'm terrible at the family relationship definitions… perfect for navigating Beth's extensive family tree.

Anyway, while it was very nice to have a quiet, clean house for 10 days, it's really nice to have everyone home.  I had to make up some work in my home office tonight - it was nice to hear the girls giggling and playing downstairs…  even if they were jumping on the couch which mommy's told them not to do.

I posted Beth's pictures from the trip in our photo gallery, under Vacations and Trips, 2008 KC Visit.  It looks like they threw Anna a little early birthday party with all her cousins.  I hope to make the move to Kansas City before too much more time passes by that the girls miss with their family there, but the housing market is just not cooperating. It could be that it's just not the right time yet.

If I do say so myself...

As Beth was putting on Anna's new pajamas tonight:

Beth: Do you like your new nightgown, Anna?
Anna: Yes - I'm beautiful!!

Israel Tour 2008 - Part 5

This is Part 5 of my account of our tour to Israel with The National Christian Choir.  This entry begins with our visit to Mt. Carmel, then continues on page 2 at Megiddo, ending up in Nazareth.  To start at the beginning, click here.  All my Israel pictures and videos are in the photo gallery under Vacations and Trips, then 2008 Israel.

Day 3 - Mount Carmel

From Ceasarea, we headed to the top of Mount Carmel.  I believe Gila told us this was the highest point in Israel.  This is also the place where Elijah challenged the 450 prophets of Baal (I Kings 18).  Harry again gathered all 300 of us on top of Mt. Carmel to tell the story.  The view from the top of the mountain was beautiful, as was the drive up the mountain.

A Prayer for Anna

A long time ago (2005), when our first child was 9 months old, I put together a little slideshow about her.  In the background, I used a song called The Gift of Children, which I recorded with The National Christian Choir literally weeks before she was born.  The song really expressed what was in my heart as we were getting ready to become parents for the first time, and I wanted to put something together.
I had a link to the video on the crappy, one-page "website" that used to be here at menendez.us before I made all the updates to put this blog in place.  But once I made the switch, that link was lost, and I wanted to be sure it was available for you to find and for my new friends from the trip to see.
You can now view the video from a couple places:

• Watch it on YouTube
• For higher quality, download the original movie file (~21 MB) 

Enjoy!

Israel Tour 2008 - Part 4

Amphitheater in Ceasarea

This is Part 4 of my account of our tour to Israel with The National Christian Choir.  This entry begins with our visit to Ceasarea by the Sea.  To start at the beginning, click here.  All my Israel pictures and videos are in the photo gallery under Vacations and Trips, then 2008 Israel.

Day 3 - Ceasarea by the Sea

From Joppa, we drove about 30 minutes (if I remember right) to Ceasarea.  It took Peter a day to make the same trip.  I didn't think I'd be one to be terribly fascinated by ruins, but Ceasarea really captured my imagination.  Today it is in ruins, with portions being reconstructed, but from what was still there, I thought you could get a feeling for what the town must have looked and felt like.  And I think it would have been another town that I wouldn't have minded living in - maybe I'm just a sucker for the ocean (or here, technically, the sea).

Israel Tour 2008 - Part 3

Joppa

This is Part 3 of my account of our tour to Israel with The National Christian Choir.  This entry begins with our visit to Joppa.  To start at the beginning, click here.  All my Israel pictures and videos are in the photo gallery under Vacations and Trips, then 2008 Israel.

Day 2 - Joppa

We have just left the market in Tel Aviv and are headed to Joppa (or Jaffa, as it is also called).  This was one of my favorite spots and is where I think the tour really started to become special for me.  Not just because I had finally gotten a relatively good night's sleep and recovered from the flight, but because we had moved from what I felt was kind of just any other city (Tel Aviv) and into places that really had a lot of history behind them.  Our guide, Gila, really started getting to talk to us about what happened at the places we visited from here on out, and it was neat to hear her read a passage of Scripture then say, "And this is where that took place," or "And this is where he lived."

Israel Tour 2008 - Part 2

Tel Aviv from Joppa

This is Part 2 of my account of our tour to Israel with The National Christian Choir.  This entry begins with our stay in Tel Aviv.  To start at the beginning, click here.  All my Israel pictures and videos are in the photo gallery under Vacations and Trips, then 2008 Israel.

Day 1 - Tel Aviv

We stayed at the Dan Panorama hotel in Tel Aviv.  It was overall a very nice hotel.  When dad and I arrived in our room, we thought it was funny just how small the room was.  It was small.  It barely had enough room to fit the (single!) king bed, a desk, a night stand, and a dresser, and you didn't have much spare room to walk around.