Things been happening so fast I have not even been able to keep up with pictures. I just downloading the pictures from the camera and thought thank God for pictures to make me slow down look back at what we been doing. Writing in this blog is also my way to feel connected with everyone. Life here is amazing and things happen all the time. Several friends from back home already been here for their nine days pilgrimage and we got to see them and spend some time together. Several years ago we went to a conference in Chicago and meet a lady from Yemen who was a friend with Nesreen. Two days ago while walking at Bahji she passed by and then asked me if I was Nesreen’s sister. I said yes and recognized her. We ended up having lunch the day before she left and had a wonderful time. I felt like I knew her for a long time. Things like this happen all the time here that you meet people you either knew or they new my family members from all over the world. Another cool example is my kids Baha’i children classes teacher went home to the US for few weeks and came back. When she got back she told me that she had dinner at my brother house. I said you knew him she said not really but her family just moved few months ago to my brother community and when she went to visit her family he invited them to dinner and off course when she said that she is working at the Baha’i world center he told her that his sister and family where here and you can figure out the rest of the story.
This is the first morning that I am actually home in the morning while the kids in school for the last two weeks. I just made banana bread and have tons of things to do but I missed writing. Speaking of cooking, I had friends over for dinner few days ago and I made stuffed Squash. For those who don’t know it is a long process where you empty the inside of these small squashed and then stuff it with meat, rise and spices. Anyway, I was trying to figure out how much mix to make so I don’t have too much or too little. And then more complicated how much to stuff the squash so when the rise expand it will fit just right and not come out and not be half empty. Off course being and engineer I counted who many squash I had, figured out about how much rise I need to fill each one based on my experience of making rise and then what is the ratio of meat to rise and in my head figured out about how much I need. The whole time I was stuffing the small squashed kept monitoring the how much rice and squashed left and trying to make sure I balance what is left. I was determined to make it fit just right. Then I made tabbolah, chicken and few other things and used my mother’s recipe for pineapple upside down cake, which came out good despite all the challenges with the oven. I could not help but wonder what did my mother or my grandmother thought of when they made stuffed squashed I am sure it was not what I was thinking of. As I remember my mother would sit at the sofa and empty the inside of the squashed and stuff it and either help me with my study or more like yelling at me for not paying attention and trying to get me to read but I will not elaborate on that just incase Nadia or Yasmeen decide to look at the blog. I am not sure why I am spending all this time writing about this silly thought. I guess that is just me I am always try to compare how things where with my parents and how it is for us. I guess a part of me things of what I had as a kids and what my kids to experience the same things, but the older I get the more I realized that it is impossible in so many way. No matter who much we are like our parents we are different at the time and no matter how much we want our kids to be like we were they are in different generation. Living her walking in the same area’s that my mother was born and grew up as a child where my dad worked and became a man is amazing. But in many ways I know I walk the same land yet knowing what I know about their growing up and recalling the stories they told me. It seems as we are living in totally different planets. The more I am reading and learning about the history of the Baha’i Faith the more things make sense. They lived at the tale end of what the Baha’i’s call the Heroic age and now we are living at the Formative age. I better change the subject as I can go one talking about this forever. Yet what is so cool to watch my kids smell the same type of flowers eat the same kind of candy and listen to the same kind of music I listen to as a child and actually enjoy it. Maybe for me I feel like I am living my childhood through them again. That is a cool part of living here.
I am sure you all want an update on the kids. They are doing well. We had an art show few days ago and both of them created a beautiful drawing to put at the show. Since we are new and did not have much time to prepare for these things we where running around the last minutes and I did not have time to take their pictures to get framed I walked around the house and found pictures that were framed that would work and used the frames I had to framed their work for them. It really looked good. Yasmeen also used the swing machine made a baby quilt and was sold at the art show and the money was used for the Baha’i fund. We were proud of both of them. Their school is good and I am spending a lot of time arranging things for them to be able to spend time with their friends where they have friends from their school come over to visit or they go to their friend’s homes. Nadia is friendly with everyone but she found for sure her two best friends and they love each other very much and three of them spend all the time together. Yasmeen have a lot of friends also but she is still not sure who she wants her best friend to be. I think partly she feel like she have a best friend back home and she still write to her and they talk on the phone once a month. But she has two friends that come here and I let her go to their homes and their families are very nice. There are few loud and mean kids like anywhere in the world. But the large percent of the kids have an amazing manners and very respectful and loving. The family bonds are very strong and the parents are so involve with their kids daily lives you can really feel the love and security that the kids have. I am sure the fact that the kids go to a good Catholic private school has something to do with it. But that is the environmental that the girls are growing up with here and we are very thankful for that.
The kids are also learning the meaning of budgeting. Last week we were negotiating about how much allowance they should have a week. When they asked me how much, the first thing I could think of is half a dollar. They both gave me this look like I was crazy. Then Nadia looked at me and said you know mom if you said 2 or three shekel would have sounded much better and it would be the same. So we spend 15 minutes just around which one sounded better. Then Nadia said since I like the half a dollar why don’t we make it a dollar and a half and this way they will have more money and I can keep my half dollar. I could not really argue with that so that is where we ended up with. What I don’t understand what is the purpose of the allowance if every time they want to buy something they come to me for money and they never use what they have. And when I asked them why don’t you use your money. They look at me like are you kidding spend our own money. I am not going to try to figure that one out I think it will take many years and lots of research so for now I will just site back relax and watch where will this money end. I got nothing better to do for the next 10 years.
There is so much in life that we want and so much that we need and so much that makes our hearts ach but that still should not stop us from living and enjoying the little thing in life and count our blessing. So, I hope that you all will take the time to think of these little things that makes you smile and would be great if you take the time to email me and keep me updates with what is going on with you. Not to mention names but unlike my middle sister whose name start with Rosa she promised to send me new picture of the kids more than 10 days ago and I am still waiting. Hay Rosa if I was not scarred that you will spend all the time cursing me for waking you up, I would have called you last night at 11:30 pm your time. I wanted to make the pumpkin Cookie and could not remember or find a copy of the recipe. I will call today, I really miss you.
Once a month we have a music devotional night for the Baha'i kids at our house. It is so much fun
We had a wonderful time at my sister in law's (Hasson's wife's) uncle and his family home for dinner. 
Few families got together arranged to have a devotional meeting every couple of weeks each week at a different home. The kids prepare the program for the evening. It is so nice and the kids been doing a great job.
The kids had their last hip hop class with Yasmine an amazing youth who volunteered to give them several classes prior to her departure back to France.
Friends from South Florida came for 9 days pilgrimage and we stopped by the pilgrim house to see them and had some sandwiches together.
Once or twice a month we attend an amazing talks.
