The Laughlins

Mark and I took another daytrip to Ein Kerem, which I mentioned before in the Hadassah Hospital post. This is where we wanted to go after we saw the Chagall Windows, but we realized that we were not within the bus route that would take us there. Anyways, we did find the right bus and visited Ein Kerem for the day. Ein Kerem is a beautiful and heavily-wooded town on the western outskirts of Jerusalem. It is the town that Elizabeth and Zacharias lived in and the traditional birthplace of John the Baptist, and therefore, potentially where Mary would have visited Elizabeth after she found out that she was pregnant. You can read more about Ein Kerem at Wikipedia. We started by having lunch at the "Anasheem" restaurant, which means "people" in Hebrew. This place had been recommended to us by a number of Israelis as one of their favorite restaurants in Jerusalem. We got a a pizza margherita: tomato, sliced mozzarella, basil and oil - one of our favorites anywhere we go. It was REALLY good!! The best pizza in all of Jerusalem thus far! It was over-baked in a big fire-oven and tasted very flavorful. After that, we walked to the a church that I still haven't identified yet (with the blue door). It was quite overgrown with weeds and closed off to the public for the most part. We made our way up a hill, stopping at Mary's Spring (where the dogs were drinking) and the Music Center, which is open for concerts throughout the year. We continued on to the Church of the Visitation, which we happened to hit at lunchtime, so we were not able to go inside of the actual church - I just took pictures of the grounds surrounding it. I like the "Do Not..." signs - what is with the swimsuit? Anyways, we then walked up another steep and winding road to the gates of the Russian Monastery. This too had one of the great "No Swimsuits" signs. You have to call ahead to get inside, because the two church buildings within the grounds are set off from the road quite a ways, so we didn't go in. One of the churches on the grounds (pictured below) has multiple maroon-domed peaks with gold crosses. You can also see more pictures of this church in the Hadassah Hospital post. We then hiked up a hillside behind the youth hostel and walked along trails until we got back to the main part of town. We stopped at a little coffee shop while we waited for the St. John the Baptist church to open (it was still lunchtime). We toured this church, looking at the mosaics they had there, as well as a Byzantine tomb (that was gated off). We played on a playground for a while and then took a bus back to our apartment. Overall, it was a very cute little town with a lot of art studios and shops, and we'll visit again sometime!

This is to answer questions that I have been getting in emails (about my birthday 11/15):

WHERE DO I SEND MONEY?
Send it to my parents so that it goes right into our account, and just make a note that it is for Mark and me:
Mark and Aubrey Laughlin
5720 Garden Park Drive
Garden Valley, CA 95633

IF I WANT TO SEND A CARD OR A LETTER, WHERE SHOULD I SEND IT?
If possible, send cards and money to different addresses - money to my parent's address (above) and cards to our address (below). We are not able to make deposits into our account from here, which is where we really need the money to be :) Mail usually takes about 1-2 weeks to reach us here.

Our mailing address for cards and letters is:
Mark and Aubrey Laughlin
14 Sderot Levi Eshkol Apt #2
Ramat Eshkol, Jerusalem 97702 Israel

SHOULD I SEND A PACKAGE?
In general - No. Unfortunately it is more of a cost to you (from the U.S.) than it is really worth, and sometimes it can even cost us money to receive them. In all honesty, the money would be much better used for our bills :)

WHERE SHOULD I SEND E-CARDS?
This is the best way to go for those of you with Internet! Our email address is markandaubrey@gmail.com!

Thanks to all of you who routinely check our website and pray for us. We really appreciate it!!!

Before classes started, Mark and I did a daytrip to the Garden Tomb and the Museum on the Seam (which are really down the road from us - right near the Old City). The Garden Tomb is located on a side street (outside of the Old City) near Damascus Gate in a quiet alleyway. It is free to visit, and the garden itself is very pretty, green, and quiet. Until recently, it was thought that this could have been the tomb that Jesus was placed in. However, more recent archaeology (specifically that of Gabriel Barkay whom Mark is taking an archaeology class with right now) has shown that this was an Iron Age tomb - too old for the time of Jesus. My favorite part was looking at Skull Hill. Even if this was not the Skull Hill (Golgatha) mentioned in the Bible, the features look a lot like a skull (see pictures below), which make it interesting to look at. Here is a link to the Garden Tomb and also to the BiblePlaces Page on the Garden Tomb. Afterwards, we walked to the Museum on the Seam , which we enjoyed. In the museum's words, it is "a unique museum in Israel, displaying contemporary art that deals with different aspects of the socio-political reality." Many of the installations were video projects of different types that lasted anywhere from a few minutes to almost an hour. Needless to say, we stayed until the museum closed, but didn't watch every minute of all of the videos. It was the kind of cultural experience that I really enjoy and usually prompts me to talk to Mark for the next many hours afterwards. We'll have to visit again when they change exhibitions. You can also go up to the roof of the building for a lookout. That is where all of the final pictures and sunset shots were taken from :)

Let me know what you would like to see more of (or perhaps something new) on our website. Please vote send me a comment so that I can make improvements. Also, we are almost finished transferring the old posts (pics, videos) to the new webhost. You can now view anything from July 2006 and older, as well as anything from the Netanya Video to the present. However, on a few of the older posts, a little blue question mark box might be where a picture should be -just click on it to view the picture. We're still working on the stuff in between. I am going to be adding some new features soon, but remember that now you can click on pictures to enlarge them, and please take a moment to watch the COMPLETED Hayden video. I have put the "Previous Posts" links on the top of my sidebar so that it is easier to find recent posts that you would like to see!

The second week of October was the week of Sukkot, which begins with Yom Kippur. Instead of writing the whole explanation about this holiday (Feast of Booths or Feast of Tabernacles in the Bible), and all of its biblical references, you can read about them at this link: Feast of Sukkot
In our area of Jerusalem, or any religious neighborhood for that matter, you see many sukkahs springing up throughout the week. Jewish families eat their meals in these "booths" and some of them sleep in them as well to remind them of the exodus from Egypt and their time in the desert when they "camped out" before reaching the Promised Land. We were in the U.S. for the majority of this holiday, but I did manage to take a few pictures at our apartment and neighboring apartments. They usually build these booths on their porches, on the front lawns of apartment buildings, or on the rooftops of the apartments as well.
Mark and I also took our first day trip to the Hadassah Hospital in Ein Kerem. We were hoping to see the Chagall Windows, and then walk to the town of Ein Kerem, but we had a hard time reaching the town from there, and ended up saving it for another day. However, I did take pictures of the Jerusalem Forest, the Russian Monastery, and the hillsides of Ein Kerem. The windows were very interesting too, and you can read all about their history, Marc Chagall, and see good images of them all at this website: Chagall Windows
I wasn't supposed to really take pictures (which I found out) because it is technically part of a synagogue, so I took a few, but then stopped. Take a look at the website though, and click on the images to enlarge them!

On the last weekend that we were in NorCal, we took Nate, Ashley, and Leah to Coloma State Park and showed them all of the gold contraptions that are there and the old shops and what not. Afterwards, we went to Charlie's soccer game at Lotus Park where Nate attempted to teach Mark to juggle...he was doing pretty well. Uncle Tim, Mel, and Noah met us there, and we all went to lunch together in Placerville and then on to Apple Hill. We went to High Hill Ranch, bought four pies (between four families), and finished at the Jack Russell Brewery. It was fun to see Nate, Leah, and Ashley. They even brought us a BBQ Chopped Chicken Salad from Stonefire in SoCal...so good!!! We miss that meal a LOT!!! Anyways, here are the pictures. Make sure you visit Nate's website to see the video of this part of the trip!!
nate's blog: trip to nor cal oct 06 (video)

Here is the final movie for Hayden. I hope that you all enjoy it. I cried a lot when I was making it, but that is not a bad thing. We weep with those that weep and rejoice with those that rejoice - both has been the case for Hayden. Please remember to keep praying for Hayden, and feel free to pass this video around to friends and family. Mel, Tyson, and Hayden...we love you guys!

There are some new improvements that I am adding with the new web host. First of all, I am stealing Nate's idea and using Google Videos for my future videos, that way you can watch them right on my blog instead of opening a new window. I'll have to keep testing the quality difference for a while, but it seems to work pretty well. Secondly, from now on, when you click on a picture that I have uploaded, you can see a full-screen sized version of the picture...for all of you older folk :) Finally, I have another five or more posts to add later today, but Mark and I are heading out right now. Most of you are asleep in the U.S. anyways, but spread the word that we are up and running again!!!

We spent the first week of our U.S. visit in NorCal with family and friends. We went up Highway 88 (just south of Lake Tahoe) to Sorenson's for one night (in a cabin) with my family. It was a lot of fun, and we caught the leaves changing colors too. The aspens were beautiful!! This is the area that we used to camp in all of the time when I was a child. Anyways, Mark is beginning to understand why I think Northern California is so beautiful and why it was so much fun to grow up there - hiking, camping, etc. It actually snowed a good amount on our way up and then rained a few days, but it was a welcome change in weather, as Israel is still a little hot. We ended the Sorenson's trip by driving down a logging road and shooting my dad's guns - a .22, .380 handgun, and a .40 handgun. We didn't have any ear protection, so we stuffed them with Kleenex. I still only opted to shoot the .22 and .380, since the .40 is stinking loud. Anyways, it was probably the highlight of Mark's time there, because he REALLY wanted to shoot guns. My mom and Charlie even gave the .22 a whirl, but mom kind of fell over - not from the kick, just because she shoots weird and loses her balance :) Anyways, here are some more pictures.

Hello again!! I currently have about another five posts (or more) to put up, so keep checking back. Also, I am having to fix a few transfer errors with the move to the new web host, so if you happen to look back at the Tisch Zoo: Take 2 (or anything before that), the pictures and videos probably won't come up yet. However, all of the new posts should work just fine.
I'm going to start with a post about our trip to the U.S. that we returned from about a week ago. This first post is from Nebraska where we visited Melinda and Hayden. We spent about three days hanging out at the Lied Medical Center rooms with Mel, Hayden, Tia (Tyson's sister), and my mom. Hayden is doing OK - little improvements here and there, but the seizures still give him problems. Please keep praying for him, as it will take a number of years to see what he will be able to do. He is a cute little guy, and Mel is a great mom - quite the nurse with him. Oh, yeah. Mel gave me the makeover too :) I took the picture of the Tel Aviv boarding sign for fun because I found it rather funny that the only "secure boarding area" in the whole airport was the one going to Israel. Surprisingly, you really do feel more safe in Israel in ways :) More on that later...enjoy the pictures. I'll add videos soon.

Please (really you need to) watch this great video that Nate put together of our visit to NorCal. Nate, Ashley, and Leah came to see us for a weekend...tons of fun!! Click on the link below!
nate's blog: trip to nor cal oct 06 (video)

OK - This first post on my new webhost is dedicated to my friend, the man, Nate Murray, who made my blogging possible (in the first place) and as well as my continued blogging (now). Thanks, Nate. You ROCK!!

Nate is the one on the left :) And Ashley is the one on the right :) Hi, Ashley (vacuum donkey).

My fears were confirmed - I am basically out of space on my current web host, so that is why it is not letting me post pictures! Sad times. The good news is that Nate is switching me to a new host with more space than the hard drive of my computer, so it shouldn't be a problem in the future. Keep checking the website! I should have new entires up in 24 hours!! ~Aubrey

My blog had just enough room for one last great post before switching. Click on the play button below to watch our Netanya video!!