This picture (above) has a little bit of everything... California sunset, a blind man begging in Nazareth, children showing off their colored pencils in Haiti, cactus in Arizona, a caterpillar at my favorite nature preserve in TN, a Mosque in Jordan and the coast in Italy.
People make memories. What good is a place if you can't say "look!!!"
my friends and I jumping on a trampoline in GA, my little cousin, my mom, my sister, my lifelong bff's.
I know I'm not supposed to feed the wild life but how often do I even get the chance to feed a deer? This was after my sister's wedding on an Island off the coast of Washington state called the Orcas Islands
"California waves remind me
salt of the sea purify me
help me to be
and always remain
clean, free and brave"
Fishing village near the Dead Sea and the Dead Sea itself. It was cool seeing fishermen mending their nets- reminded me of the disciples. The water of the Dead Sea has a silky thick feeling. We put the mud on our bodies and faces and it removed all the dead skin. It was a little chilly when we were there in winter, but it was still warm enough to get in. (2008)
Visiting Israel was great, but I'd like to go back again without being on a tour and just spend time there. Our tour guide Ezra was an athiest, so you can imagine the tour wasn't as spiritual as I'd wished! But we did get to spend some time at a Kibbutz and have Friday night Shabbot with the people there. My favorite part and probably one of the most memorable nights of my life was being in Bethlehem on Christmas eve. The city was full of people. Singing Christmas songs in Arabic, serving sweets and tea in the streets and trying to get into the church of the Nativity. Our family did get in. The smell of incense and the candles in this cave looking underground area was amazing. (2008)
My sister and I "modeling" in our traditional arabic dresses. This house is where my dad grew up in Jordan, it's made of huge hand cut stones with a flat roof. It was actually freezing and we stayed there with my grandma for a few nights. When we went to sleep in our big jackets and covers we could see our breath! We heated food and water on a gas burner- it was like camping, but inside. Some houses in Jordan are really beautiful and modern but I guess my grandma hasn't felt the need to modernize yet!
New Reality International, the non-profit I started with my sister in 2006 (though admittedly she does most of the work!!!) took this trip to Haiti to provide dental clinics just before the earthquake. I remember looking over Port Au Prince and saying to my sister "this would be a terrible place to have an earthquake". I couldn't believe the state of things before the earthquake, I'd never seen a place with so much trash and where every house looked like lopsided slapped together stucco.
It was providential that we were there just before the earthquake so we were ready to respond right after it hit. The kids there made an impression on me like I'd never experienced before- I learned that if you want to save yourself, start by trying to help someone else. I'd never felt as loved and valued than I did by these kids. I'm absolutely positive that in going there to help them with dental and surgical care, they did much more for me.
My most wonderful mom and dad took me to see my hero Celine Dion in Vegas. She was amazing. And this was the view from our hotel room- looking at The Paris hotel. Oh I miss them so much- I don't know if I have a normal level closeness with my parents or not, but I love being with them, love who they are and feel overwhelming gratefulness when I think of them.
