Saturday, March 26, 2011

Israel, part 2

Some more pictures from Israel...
At the Pool of Bethesda. This is where a lame man was healed by Jesus (see John 5:1-14).
At the Garden of Gethsemane. These are olive trees. There was originally a olive oil press in this area. This remindes us that Jesus was crushed for our sins (Isaiah 53:5).
Me with the Old City of Jerusalem in the background.
The Old City in the background with the Domoe of the Rock in the center. This is where the Jewish temple was and also where Abraham offered to sacrifice Isaac.
The ruins at Bet' Shean. This was a Roman/Byzantine city that we were able to tour.

more pictures of Lydia and family

These are kind of out of order. They show the last few days since we came home from the hospital. Enjoy!





Lydia looking at herself in the mirror. There is a picture of Evan like this when he was recently born.
Lydia with her purple hyacinth. Remember that the Lydia of the Bible sold purple cloth. We will be able to plant this one and see it come back every year.


Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Lydia, part 2

Here are some more pictures of Lydia. These were all taken today. Most are pretty self-explanatory. Enjoy!
In the background there you can see some artwork that was brought courtesy of Audrey and Evan.





Dr. Brennaman, Christine's doctor and the one that delivered Lydia.






with Pastor Shawn, aka Man vs Wild. He is my new hunting and fishing buddy.

Israel pictures, part 1

Following are some pictures from my recent trip to Israel.
Here is me at Gideon's spring, which is where he picked his 300 men.
A sunrise at the Sea of Galilee. My favorite part of the trip was in the Galilee area.“
Matthew 4:15-16- Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea, along the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles—
the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.”
Olives at market in Tiberias. I really enjoyed the food on this trip. Olives, hummus, bread and cheese were a big part of that.
Jordan River
The synagogue at Capernaum where Jesus would have taught and done miracles. These are the ruins from a 4th century synagogue that was built on the one from Jesus' time.
John 6:59- 'He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.'
Caeserea Phillipi, which is where Peter said that Jesus was the Son of the Living God and Jesus replied that he was Peter and upon this rock he would build his church. See Matthew 16:13-19
mountains surrounding galilee
Me on the boat ride on the Seas of Galilee.
Sea of Galilee from hotel
Israeli flag

Lydia Reva Haley

These first 3 were taken over the weekend before Lydia was born.


Here is Audrey and Evan meeting little Lydia. Evan did real well meeting her, especially at first. He was singing to her and waving to her. Then she started crying and he told her to stop. He jumped down off the bed and said 'I don't like this, I'm going for a walk!' He came around a bit later before he left but it was pretty funny to see.
Here is mommy, Lydia and nurse Sharon, who helped us so much.
Here she is with Pipa.
Here she is with Ginga.
Here she is with us.

Fresh out of the oven.
She was born at 4:52 pm on March 21, 2011. She weighed 7 pounds and 4 ounces and was 20 and a half inches long. She is named after Lydia in the Bible (Acts 16:11-15), who was a woman of faith and service. We pray that she is able to follow the example of the Lydia of the Bible. Reva is a family name from Christine's family. The story goes that it was the name of the French nurse who was there at the time of Christine's grandmother's birth. We thank you for remembering us and praying for us. Please continue to do so. Also, please keep posted as I hope to put more pictures.