Feast of Tabernacles 2016

Howdy, friends! I was going to post some pictures from Sukkot, but we have over 200 photos and over 20 videos (which I still need to upload), so it'll be easier to just share the >>>link to the album<<<. Enjoy!

Here are a few of my favorites though.....

 Jacob made it to the center, a.k.a. "King", in 9 Square!

 We had to put the rain fly / tophat on....quite amusing.

 Joe broke his arm just 3 days before we left, so we got the cast during camp.

 The girls rode around on this golf cart a lot with their friends.

Alex was amazingly patient when teaching chess to some of the children and teens!

 It's nice to only have a few dishes to wash!

 My chocolate cake mix turned into brownies (on purpose, lol) turned out great!

 It was hard to get them all together at once, but this was some of our neighbors. Awesome people! We're going to visit their congregation soon in Tulsa!

 Some other awesome people we met! This is Joey and Krys and their beautiful children.

From the sunglasses on head, left to right.....Annie, Jason, Mark and Reanee. Fun and loving people!

 Jessica is getting so big! She looks 12 here! Okay, maybe not *that* old.

 Jacob turns 12 in 3 more days, and he is now taller than his 14yo sister! He's trying to hide from the camera here.

 

 Jack's favorite color is yellow. :)

 Jonathan actually joined in a dance! 

 And posed for a picture! 

We didn't get many pictures of Jayla because we didn't see her much, so this one and the golf cart are about the only ones. Here she is playing a Minute to Win It type game. lol

I just wanted to post another pic of Joe. This one was actually before camp, right after he broke his arm but before he got his orange cast on. I love his smile! He doesn't look like he's in pain at all, does he? lol

That's all for pictures, but please click on the link above and take a look at all of them! I'll write more about Sukkot later and share the videos. It was a very blessed time.

Friends

Since leaving Facebook, I feel like we really don't have any friends to speak of. Sure, there are a few random texts from people I haven't heard from in a while, and it's always great to hear from them, but aside from my husband, my mom and one friend who I've known since before FB, I don't hear from people very often.

I know they are busy, but I also know that when you are on Facebook and plan your events, advertise your work and keep in touch with *most* friends through it, then there really isn't life outside of Facebook! Which is one of the main reasons I left. It sucked up my whole life, and I was determined to rebuild my life apart from social media. (There are a few other reasons I left too, though.)

But we long for fellowship with other like-minded believers. No one remembers to invite us to events anymore since we're no longer on FB.

I'm so glad Passover is here (we are observing tomorrow night). We have just been practicing Passover together as a family for the last few years, so it won't be a social event for us, but I LOVE YHWH's feast days! We learn something new every year, and as our children are mostly still young, there is so much to teach them.

We are planning to stay home for Sukkot this year, which I have mixed feelings about, but after last year, I am looking forward to it. Not sure who we'll invite yet, but probably at least one other family, maybe 3 or 4.

We are also looking forward to a short vacation coming up soon where we will get to see a few of our friends and family in Texas! We were without a family vehicle for a year and a half, and we now have an awesome Suburban that we are going to put to good use.....to visit our friends in real life, face to face! We may even be visiting a friend we met through Facebook that we have not yet met in person (been there, done that, and they are the BEST!).

So, I guess what I'm trying to get at is....this is a new phase in life for us. We feel isolated against our will, but I know it's only temporary, and it has been good in some ways. Right now we're trying to figure out how to reach out to others while also making decisions for our future. Big decisions. We live very simple lives, but we do have big dreams! Last year was SUPER HARD for us, but this year has already been better and is looking up! Praise Abba for His many blessings, and that we can still see His hand in the bad times. El Shaddai reigns! \o/