21 Things you don't see in America:

Consider this your "teaser" of things to come, friends! I will get to the rest of our trip this week! In the meantime, here's a look at things you don't see everyday-scratch that-ANY DAY...in America!

Appetizers that look like this:

Fifteen foot tall walls topped with barbed wire to keep the Arabs out:

Olive trees that were around when Jesus walked the earth...

You know you're in a safe neighborhood when UN vehicles abound.

Monks marching their way to church.

Pray continually, and don't forget your M-5, or M-7...whatever. Don't forget your weapon.

Bodies of water where sinking is NOT an option!

Salt piled along said lakes...

Aquaducts, be it Roman or any other kind...

Someone shaving lamb off a stake so they can throw it in a pita and call it "Schwarma."

Places where Jesus actually walked.

Meet the Hirex...an animal that moves with cat-like agility, looks like a large rodent and climbs trees like a monkey.

Bedouins.

A man who was born in a cave cooking lunch over a fire with a cigarette hanging from his lips.

An old bedouin man trying to sell you stuff he "dug out of the ground."

Friendly, Bedouin camel shepherds.

The colors of Jordan flying high.

Any of the seven wonders of the world.

A place from which you can see four countries on a clear day: Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel and Egypt.

Mine fields.

Camel Crossing signs.

Jaffa, Israel-Day 1

Dallas and I were recently able to travel to ISRAEL to visit our dear friends, Stewart and Elizabeth and to see The Promised Land up close and personal! The first day we were there, Elizabeth took us to the ancient city, Jaffa Port, which is only 20 minutes from their home in Tel Aviv! Jaffa is filled with biblical history! This ancient town is where Jonah "ran away from God" from! In it's prime, Jaffa would have been a pretty busy port town. This town was one of my favs! It also is the city where Peter lived for probably a couple of years! He stayed with Simon the Tanner when he was there, and we were able to see the home that may have been Simon's house!

Dallas and I stopped for a quick shot by the Mediterranean Sea. You can see Jaffa in the background.

Jaffa had this neat clock tower along the main road.

We went in this neat store with all sorts of unique culinary treats and spices, wines from Israel and pottery! Below are a few of the wines they sold. Passion fruit, Pomegranate and Kiwi wines are a few that they had to offer!

Below is the roof of the store I mentioned above! This roof was amazing! The building was built during the Ottoman Empire, and this store, as I was told by the owner, was the stable for the police station!

In Israel, you have your typical Jewish towns, your typical Arabic towns, and then your typical Palestinian territories. More on that to come, but Jaffa is your typical Arab town, complete with this gorgeous "prayer tower."

Old Jaffa Port's square! It was so beautiful...so Mediterranean!

I'm a sucker for doors and windows. This quaint town had doors and windows a'plenty! And, nestled within these ancient buildings were artsy stores and boutiques that one could peruse for days on end. This town is perfect for a lazy afternoon stroll, and afterward, you can go grab a fresh Pomegranate juice from the little cafe in the town square.

Views like this one were around every corner in Jaffa...

Below is a picture of Simon the Tanner's house.

Jaffa's whale fountain is so perfect! It's like a little bow atop a perfectly wrapped present!

In case I haven't quite convinced you to visit Jaffa...have a look at their hanging tree!

Mosaic tile abounds in Israeli artwork!

Doors and windows...oh my!

The Catholic church in Old Jaffa City...so gorgeous!

The actual port in Jaffa.

Our beautiful, sunshiny day in Jaffa was just perfect! The friendly people, salty sea air, and quaint, small town atmosphere was a perfect introduction as to what was to come in the time ahead!

Changed our Preference form

We officially changed our preference form today.

Let me explain...

About a month ago, we received news from our agency that we would have to redo our entire dossier after the oldest thing in it was two years old. This is apparently a mandate from MOWA in Ethiopia and is not a new phenomenon. Adoptions from Ethiopia have typically not taken 2+ years to complete, so it's just "new" now because adoptions these days apparently are taking that long to complete. We were originally given a 12+ month wait for siblings age 4 and younger. A week after we were told that we would likely be re-doing our dossier, we were told our wait time for siblings had increased to 18-24+ months for a referral.

I know what you're thinking if you have not adopted. Many of you have expressed this same frustration to me. It goes something like this: "How can it possibly take that long? Aren't there 5 million orphans in Ethiopia? Don't they care that these children are all alone without moms and dads?"

My answer, "YES! THEY CARE!!! A LOT!!! But, they want to make sure that their process is ethical and there is absolutely no child trafficking involved what-so-ever, and I WANT THAT, TOO!"

We have spent weeks in prayer over this, and have decided to change our preference form (which is the form our agency uses when they decide which child to refer to which family~ultimately knowing GOD SETS THE LONELY IN FAMILIES) We are now requesting EITHER a single child age 0-3, OR siblings ages 0-4 years.

Because of the wait time for siblings among other things, we are expecting to adopt one boy, likely a toddler. We estimate that we could very well have a referral by early summer, and could possibly bring our child home by the end of this year. We know full-well that God is the giver of life, and that HE ALONE will decide the path our family will take. We trust Him.

Please pray with us for our child/children, and for our peace of heart as we wait.